Retaining Happiness
by Lauraa.Ann
Summary: Danny Morgan has two Daddies, one who left before learning of his existence and the one who has been there since before birth. Together, Derek and Penelope have fought hard to be happy and with their own baby on the way this finally seems possible, but when everything begins to take a turn for the worst, they need to be stronger than ever or their chance at happiness could be lost.
1. Prologue

**Retaining Happiness**  
**Prologue**

* * *

_Summer 2012_

The wind blew hard and fast as Penelope Garcia sped along the road in her orange convertible causing her thick blonde hair to fly behind her as she drove. It was evening and she shivered slightly with the cold but she had too much on her mind to worry about her temperature. She had only one thought, she had to get to Derek Morgan's house.

It had crossed her mind in the twenty minutes since she had begun to panic that seeking help from one of her female friends would be a wiser choice, yet there was only one face that she wanted to see, one face that would comfort her during her time of need.

She soon had her doubts about turning up at his house after the week they'd had. Three weeks ago she had separated from her long term boyfriend Kevin Lynch after he had proposed to her, Penelope realised at that moment she could not commit to him as he was not the man she truly loved. Despite this she had been pretty upset about the whole situation especially as she had not been in contact with Kevin since the event and this led to Morgan wanting to cheer her up as he usually did.

_"Whoops, I guess I shouldn't have had that last glass of wine" Penelope giggled tripping over her own feet and stumbling into Derek Morgan's arms, she glanced up and smiled, "you'll always be there to catch me won't you Hot Stuff?"_

_He lifted her off her feet and into his arms, "for the rest of my life Baby Girl"_

_"Derek Morgan! Put me down at once, I will not be taken advantage of like this when I am the teeniest bit intoxicated!" Garcia cried kicking her legs._

_"Hush woman" he sighed pushing through the beaded curtains which led to her bedroom before placing her onto her bed._

_She grinned up at him with her eyes half-closed behind her glasses, "good thing I'm already in my pyjamas, we wouldn't want you having to undress me would we?" her smile soon faded and a tear rolled down her face as she looked back at her best friend, "I made the right choice with Kevin didn't I?"_

_Morgan pulled back the covers which allowed Penelope to snuggle into the cosy depths of her bed before kissing her soft blonde hair and tucking her in gently, "of course you did Baby, if you didn't want to marry him then you were perfectly within your rights to say no, I never thought he was good enough for you anyway"_

_With her eyes already closed she gave him a distant smile, "the truth is you are the reason I couldn't marry Kevin, I love you too much" she sighed as she turned her back on him and fell straight to sleep, snoring lightly._

Penelope shuddered as the events of that night came back to haunt her once again, she had woken up mortified and alone in her own bed and therefore found herself unable to act naturally around her best friend as she had admitted her deepest, darkest secret to him. Thankfully they were called onto a case the next day and so she was able to limit her contact with him, however now she needed him more than ever, all current problems aside.

Within minutes she found she was pulling up outside his large house, she had been many times but never had she turned up unannounced, pounding on his door in desperation.

"One minute" she heard his husky voice call from inside the house before the lock clicked and the chain jangled and soon the door opened and there stood the epitome of perfection. Dressed in a tight black t-shirt which exemplified the definition of his abs and black jeans he leant lazily against the doorway.

"Hey Baby Girl, did you get my messages? You've been avoiding me sweetness" he smiled before noticing the distress on her beautiful face "what's wrong? Come inside" he instructed wrapping his arm around her and guiding her into the hall, closing the door with his foot. He continued to take her into the living room and sat her onto the couch as he sat opposite clutching both her hands.

"Talk to me right now Baby, what's going on?" he asked directly looking into her sad, round eyes.

Penelope took a deep breath, she thought she was going to cry, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

"You know me and Kevin broke up the other week after he proposed?" she started looking down at her hands which Morgan still had his own clasped around them. "Well at first I didn't see him around work, I thought he was just avoiding me and sulking but after two weeks with no contact I did my usual digging and he has resigned from the FBI and now he's gone. It's my job to find people who disappear Derek but I've been trying to keep tabs on him for the past week and he has vanished. I mean sold his apartment, emptied his bank accounts, cancelled credit cards everything!"

Morgan frowned, "just because you rejected his proposal?"

She shook her head, "he's wanted to do this for years, just move away, he's probably gone overseas. Now he had no ties, he's actually gone and done it..."

"Why do I feel that's not the whole story?" he asked trying to meet his best friend's eyes again.

"Because it's not" she replied sadly, "I had my suspicions last week but I didn't want to say anything until it was confirmed and now he's vanished and I don't know what to do Derek you've got to help me!" she cried unable to stop the tears falling from her eyes.

"Hey come on now" he said sitting beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder allowing her soft blonde hair to fall onto his chest, he took his thumb and wiped the tears from her face, "look at me" he instructed. Penelope looked up beneath her round glasses which were clouded slightly from her tears, "tell me what's wrong, whatever it is I will always be here for you"

Fresh tears fell as she continued to look at him, "I-I'm pregnant Derek, I'm having his baby" she sobbed, making dark, wet circles on his t-shirt.

Morgan hugged her closer to him, his mind was racing, she was pregnant with his baby! It made his stomach churn, he knew it was always a possibility but after four years he hoped it was not meant to be. He could not bear the thought of her carrying the child of that man, the man who had now abandoned her, he always hoped by some miracle that she would be the woman that he would start his family with, the woman he loved. That flicker of hope of ignited again when he heard her drunken whisper the previous week but now he knew that would dim again as she would not want to become romantically involved when she was pregnant with another man's baby.

He didn't know how to react, he knew what his instincts were telling him, they were telling him what they always told him when he was around her, despite his feelings he knew he had to speak from the heart.

"Penelope" he said softly lifting her chin up to face him, "I love you and I will be here to support you whatever your decision, do whatever makes you happy, forget about Lynch, forget about me, this is about you and what you want"

Garcia wiped another single tear which was rolling slowly down her pale cheek, "if only I could have what I want" she scoffed quietly avoiding eye contact.

Morgan moved to try to get her to look at him but she closed herself off again by folding her arms across her chest and continuing to fix her gaze on his carpet, "what is it you want?" he asked softly, hoping the answer was the one he wanted to hear, he needed her confirmation before he made any assumptions, especially as vulnerable as she was.

She turned further around, "it doesn't matter" she murmured, "I shouldn't have said anything"

He placed his large hand on her shoulder and gently turned her back towards him, "Penelope what do you want?" he asked a little firmer.

Garcia finally raised her head revealing the teardrops which were clinging onto her long black eyelashes, "you" she admitted slowly, "all I've ever wanted was you" she brought her hand to her mouth realising what she had just said, "I'm so sorry, I need to go" she began to dart for the door when a strong wrapped around her wrist.

Morgan pulled her gently towards her so that their noses were barely centimetres apart, he could feel her short breath against his skin and feel her heart beating rapidly out of her rib cage, "you don't need to go anywhere ever again" he breathed, "I only ever wanted you too" he ran his finger down her arm gingerly, "I will look after both of you, I will never let you down the way he has"

Penelope blinked through her tears, "don't you dare do this out of pity Derek Morgan, I don't need you to feel sorry for your fat, middle-aged, romantically desperate, now pregnant best friend, I never expected you to want me so don't do it just to please me because you care too much to see me rejected by the man I never loved and heartbroken by the man I always loved" she said quietly.

Morgan knew he couldn't be the only one feeling the love and chemistry between them as their eyes were locked in a lustful gaze, how could she believe he was only wishing to be with her out of pity? Did she not know that he was close to pouring his heart out? Did she not know that he had been longing for this moment of revelation for years? She was not registering what he was saying, how could she when Lynch had put so much pressure on her, Morgan knew if he was going to make Penelope see the truth he would have to show her.

He carefully brushed his index finger across her cheek before tucking a stray stand of silky blonde hair behind her ear before moving his hand down to rest on her neck. With little encouragement needed he rested his lips onto hers, her lips were so soft, so tender just like he had imagined they would be. Morgan wanted to be direct, the passion, the chemistry it was sparking between them like a blazing fire dancing wildly unable to be controlled, he held onto her head and back as he leant towards her kissing her deeply. After the initial shock Garcia finally responded by taking control and grasped onto the back of his shirt, she began kissing him back giving him as much as she getting, their tongues dancing around each other frantically, not stopping for air, this was a moment that they had been waiting far too long for, it was not being squandered.

When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily, Morgan looked at her studying her body language patiently waiting, Penelope blinked several times as if to convince herself she wasn't dreaming before looking back at him, "you're not doing this out of pity" she stated in disbelief.

He shook his head firmly and took her hand, "I would never do that to you"

She smiled looking down and placed her hand on her stomach before sliding herself onto his lap and looping her arms around his neck, "well I guess this is what happiness is, I am getting what I want then" she sighed.

Morgan mirrored her grin and began kissing her neck softly, "and you always will" he whispered against her skin.


	2. Chapter 1

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 1**

A/N - Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites already, it means so much it really does! Please enjoy!

* * *

_5 Years Later_

The high-pitched ring of the telephone echoed clearly through the house. It was a typical Saturday morning, the sun was blazing through the trees, children were playing outside on the pavement and there was the occasional hum of engines when cars passed by.

Derek Morgan had been in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from breakfast when he heard the sound indicating that someone was calling. Wiping his hands on his jeans he walked with haste into the hallway, upon seeing the name on the Caller ID he grinned broadly before picking up the receiver and leaning against the end of the banister.

"By any chance am I talking to the sexiest woman on the planet?" he asked with the smile still plastered on his face.

There was a small, sarcastic gasp, _"well look at that, it seems you are!"_

He chuckled, "hey Momma, how's the conference?"

_"Ick!"_ the voice of his wife exclaimed, he could imagine the facial expressions she was pulling,_ "it's so boring, J.J. actually had to nudge me to keep me awake!"_

The smile momentarily left his face, "are you sure that's nothing to do with your hormones baby?"

Penelope sighed, _"Derek, I've done the whole pregnant thing before, I know what's a symptom and what's just plain boredom!"_

"Ok, you know I worry about you, you are due in 8 weeks, attending a conference miles away from me doesn't exactly ease my mind"

Her voice softened at hearing the apprehension in his voice, _"oh sweet cheeks I know you do but I'll be home tomorrow and then I'll be stuck at home for God knows how long so let me have some freedom, ok?"_

"Ok" he sighed unconvincingly.

_"So, how are my two favourite boys doing today?"_ she asked merrily.

"We're fine, I'm going to take him to his soccer practice and then we're going to have a pig out lunch"

_"The things the male species do for fun"_ she said rolling her eyes _"is he there?"_

"Yeah, hold on" Morgan held his hand over his phone as he yelled up the stairs. "Danny? Mommy's on the phone!"

Immediately, the little four year old could be heard running along the landing in anticipation to speak to his Mother. Morgan looked up to see his stepson skipping down the stairs, his thick blond curly hair bouncing energetically.

"Right beautiful girl, here is one strapping young man waiting to speak to you, I love you, bye" he said putting the phone in his little, outstretched hand.

"Mommy?"

_"Hi baby boy, how's my little man today?" _Garcia chirped excitedly happy to be in contact with her son.

"I'm ok, are you coming home soon?" he asked sadly.

Penelope's heart sank hearing that her baby missed her, she hated being apart from him, _"tomorrow baby, but you'll have a fun day with Daddy today won't you?"_

Danny looked up at Derek and gave a small smile, "yeah, have you got the baby yet?"

Penelope laughed, _"no not yet angel but you'll be the first to know, right you have a good time at practice and I'll see you in morning, bye I love you Danny"_ she said blowing a kiss down the phone.

"Love you Mommy" the little boy said putting his lips to the receiver before handing it back to Morgan.

Derek looked down at the little boy's solemn face and tucked his hands under his arms allowing him to pick him up and balance him on his hip.

"Right little man, are we going to have a fun boys day today?" Danny's face lit up and he nodded his head with excitement, "well let's get your uniform ready for practice" he smiled carrying him up the stairs.

Morgan knew he couldn't love that boy more, although he was not his biological father he had been with Penelope every step of the way through his life and would always think of him as his own son. They had been happily married since before Danny was born and now he was so excited that they were having their first baby together. Garcia still kept Kevin's name flagged in case he was ever to return to the country, but after five years she was no longer hopeful that he would ever be a part of his son's life. When Danny had started kindergarten she had explained to him that he was lucky because he had two Daddies, one that helped him to be born who now lived in an exciting place and one that always had and always would be there for him. She even gave him a picture to keep of him because no matter how much she hated Kevin for disappearing she would never deny Danny the knowledge of his father.

* * *

"Go Danny!" Morgan yelled from the benches where he sat watching with the other mother's and father's who were dedicated enough to give up their Saturday mornings to watch their children practice soccer. Naturally, the majority of the mothers kept one eye on the game and one eye on Derek Morgan, even as he approached middle age he could still turn the ladies' heads and they would not miss the extremely rare opportunity when Penelope was away from his side.

The little boy, who stood in his oversized blue kit so that the shorts hung below his knees, turned at the sound of his father's voice, he grinned showing his little white teeth and waved quickly before turned back to the game.

He looked over to see his colleagues standing at the sidelines. Although Jack was now twelve and was in an older team, Hotch and Rossi still insisted on volunteering to coach the little four to seven year old children in order to see the joy they bring.

Once practice was over Morgan stood up to walk over to his friends when a woman who he identified as 'Joe's mother' blocked his path fluttering her eyelashes furiously in his direction, "why hello Mr Morgan!" she purred, "wasn't that a good game? The boys are improving every week and Danny's becoming quite the striker"

He gave her a small smile but the irritation was plastered all over his face, "thanks but I-"

"-I was thinking maybe you and Danny would like to come for lunch with Joe and me" she interjected quickly.

He looked past her to see Rossi smirking with Hotch talking to Danny in his arms, "I think me and Danny were just going to spend the day together sorry, he was really looking forward to it" he replied attempting to get by once more.

"Oh well maybe another day" she smiled widely pushing up her obviously bleached blonde hair.

This time he was successful in dodging past this woman, "you'll have to speak to Penelope about that, sorry, bye" he called not looking back. 'Joe's mother' wiped the fake grin off her face and turned on her heel in a huff in the opposite direction, clearly annoyed by her rejection.

Just as he began walking towards his colleagues he saw Hotch place the little boy on the ground and Danny came bounding towards him, Derek held out his arms and caught him, pulling him upwards, "good job today little man, you're getting better every week"

"He's right Danny, you've definitely got your father's determination" Rossi smiled rustling his hair.

"But maybe not his way with women just yet" Hotch added with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Morgan narrowed his eyes slightly at his boss before turning his attention back to his stepson, "you ready for some food?" his little head nodded rapidly. Morgan grinned and lifted him effortlessly up onto his shoulders, "I'll see you on Monday" he called waving to his colleagues.

"Daddy? Can we get ice-cream?" Danny's voice called from above him as they walked to the car.

"Ice-cream before lunch? I don't think your Momma would be too pleased about that"

He hear a small sigh, "I know"

Derek grinned, "but what your Momma don't know can't hurt her, just this once" he said pulling him over his head and into his arms as they reached the car.

A pair of small arms flung around his neck, "yay!" he cheered excitedly hugging Morgan tightly.

"Ok Dan" he smiled pressing the unlock button on his keys and opening the back door of the car, "in you get" he said carefully placed him into his car seat just as he had done so many times in the past, before leaving him to get into the driver's seat.

* * *

After only getting five minutes into town they stopped at their favourite diner to get one of their famous hot chocolate fudge sundaes. Morgan sat opposite his stepson as he watched him devour the various layers of vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce, it seemed more of it was covering his face than going in his mouth.

"Ok little man we need to get you cleaned up!" Morgan laughed after he finished the remnants of the sundae.

Danny looks down at himself, despite having a napkin tucked into his t-shirt he was covered in the sticky dessert, "sorry Daddy" he said sadly, he looked as if he might cry.

Morgan stood up and picked him up effortlessly, "no need to be sorry buddy, these things happen and then we fix them by going to the bathroom to clean you up" he smiled and carried the still pouting little boy to the men's room.

A considerably cleaner and happier Danny emerged five minutes later with Derek close behind him. The little boy stopped near the counter and frowned as he looked hard at a man sitting at a booth in the corner.

"What's wrong Danny?" he asked halting beside him.

With his little brow still furrowed he turned to look at his father, "that man looks like my born Daddy" he said pointing towards the table.

Derek frowned himself in concentration and looked towards the table. 'Born Daddy' was the term that had stuck on the rare occasions when Danny spoke about his biological father, he didn't fully understand the situation so they continued to refer him by the child's name. The man was sat alone and turning towards the wall, obscuring part of his face, however from where they were stood it did look like Lynch, but now bearded and wearing much shabbier clothes. Morgan looked down to reply to him when he realised he was no longer stood there, he looked back up and saw the little boy tottering over to the table where the Lynch look-a-like sat. It was clear that young Danny had inherited his mother's outgoing trait rather than his father's awkwardness and shyness. He tried to run over to stop him but he was too late.

"Excuse me" Danny said politely placing his small hand onto the man's shoulder "are you my born Daddy?"

Morgan reached the little boy and scooped him into his arms, "Danny that was very rude, what have we told you? You mustn't speak to strangers" he said in a much more serious tone before turning back to the man, "I'm sorry for disturbing you..." he apologised turning to walk away.

The man turned slowly towards where the pair had been standing, "what does he mean 'born Daddy' Agent Morgan?" he asked quietly, yet loud enough for Derek to hear.


	3. Chapter 2

**Retaining Happiness**  
**Chapter 2**

A/N - Thank you once again for the response!

* * *

Morgan stopped and closed his eyes. He had vowed to kill Lynch he ever had the misfortune to come across him again, the pain and suffering he had put Penelope through during her pregnancy made his heart break thinking about it. He couldn't bear to think what would have happened had he not been there to look after her, he was ready to kill him with his bare hands but the little boy in his arms was stopping him.

"Danny, just stand behind while I talk to the man ok?" he whispered into the boy's ear, he nodded slowly before Morgan placed him on the floor and held his hand firmly.

Finally Derek turned to face Lynch, his blood boiled as he met his eyes, the same weak eyes he had loathed from the day he introduced himself to Penelope. He breathed heavily feeling the fire blazing within him and slowly turned back.

"What are you doing here Lynch?" he growled.

Kevin looked up at him, not breaking eye contact, "I've come home"

"Oh you've come home have you Kevin, after what five years? Now you've come home, well how considerate of you" he spat sarcastically through gritted teeth, trying not to complete lose his temper or say anything inappropriate in front of innocent Danny.

He simply nodded, unaware of the damage he'd caused, "I stopped by at Penelope's apartment but she doesn't live there anymore" he stated.

He ground his teeth further, "I'm aware of that. Seeing as I'm the one who's been here and you haven't"

"We'd broken up when I left, there was no reason to stay" he protested.

Morgan took a deep breath, using all his will to remain relatively calm, "we need to take this outside so I don't do something I regret in this public place" he hissed.

Calmly Lynch stood up and followed Morgan out of the diner after he quickly paid for their sundae. He stood and watched as Derek placed the little boy into the car so he didn't hear or witness anything he shouldn't.

Turning away from the car his eyes flamed with rage as he walked towards Lynch and without a second thought stuck his hand at his throat, pinning him to the wall.

"You have no idea what you did, do you you son of a bitch?!" he roared at him pushing him further into the wall.

"No-I...what..." he spluttered as he struggled to breath. Morgan threw him to the floor with force causing him to scrape against the hard concrete.

"Well?!" he shouted, his eyes so dark and full of anger, he was ready to kill for what he did to her.

"I don't know, what do you want from me, I don't know" he whimpered pathetically.

"Well I'll fill you in, shall I?" he spat standing over him "you, being the gutless little man you are, ran away because she rejected you and you couldn't handle that, could you? Oh no! So you decide to move away, but not move away like normal people, oh hell no! You needed to disappear so she wouldn't be able to find you with that enormous, genius brain of hers!" he crouched over him so to look him in the eye, "but you know what you forgot, you forgot about Penelope and her feelings, you selfish bastard" he snarled angrily "spring 2012, the middle of the night she comes to my house in absolute pieces, sobbing her heart out and do you want to know why?! Because she was pregnant and you left her!" he cried, grabbing Lynch by his coat and throwing him down again, unable to constrain himself anymore.

"Sh-she was pregnant?" he stuttered as Morgan paced away to restrain himself from causing the man further injury.

"Throughout her entire pregnancy she was in so much emotional pain, it was unbearable. She wanted me, us, but at first she closed herself off hoping to contact you, to let you be a part of his life but no you weren't there. Finally, she let me in, let me comfort her, look after her, love her..."

Lynch couldn't take his eyes off the SUV, "the boy, he's mine?" he asked.

Morgan curled his lip in disgust, "you have no right, you do not deserve to know him. Four years, some say the most important time in a child's life, the most development and growth occurs during this time, and where were you? Living the high life elsewhere, well good luck with that" he scoffed.

Finally moving his gaze back to the agent towering over him, "I need to talk to Penelope" he said firmly.

"Oh no! You come near my wife and you are a dead man. You have ruined one of her pregnancies, you will not ruin another" he growled.

Lynch looked quite taken back, "wife?"

"Yes, wife" he stated before turning at the sound of the car door opening and the little boy tottered out.

"Danny get back in the car now!" Morgan ordered, he was certainly not in the mood for niceties.

"Can I just meet him please Daddy?" Danny looked up with his big, brown eyes, the same brown eyes which he had fallen in love with on his mother.

Derek sighed, he knew Penelope's heart was too big to deny Lynch the chance to meet us son despite their feelings towards him. Uncertainly he took the little boy's hand and led him over.

Danny stuck his little hand out to the grown man still laying propped on his elbows on the floor, "my name is Daniel Alistair Morgan, I am four years old, my birthday is 6th February 2013. I have a Mommy and two Daddies and soon a baby brother or sister"

Lynch gave a small smile, Alistair was his middle name and it was also the name of his late father, he was glad that Penelope remembered, glad that his son had a piece of his heritage. He sat up to shake his son's hand, "pleased to meet you Daniel, I'm Kevin Lynch"

Derek looked at them before taking the little boy's hand again "we really need to get home"

"Can I see him again?" Lynch asked standing up hesitantly.

He thought about it before pulling his phone out of his pocket, "we'll get in touch with you after I've spoken to Penelope"

Kevin nodded as he typed his number into the phone.

Danny turned waved slowly as they began to walk away, "bye Mr Lynch"

"Bye Daniel" he smiled beneath his shaggy beard.

After placing him back into his car seat, Morgan turned to face the little boy, "Danny can you be a good boy and not tell Mommy about meeting Mr Lynch when she talks to you on the phone tonight?"

He tilted his head to one side as if in deep thought, they had always known he was bright, they believed he'd spent far too much time with Uncle Spencer growing up, "is it a secret?" he asked.

"No it's not a secret because we don't keep secrets but we don't want to upset Mommy so if we tell her tomorrow when she's home it'll be better, ok?"

"Ok"

Morgan smiled, "good boy" he soon felt his phone ringing in his pocket, he frowned slightly before pressing answer "yeah Hotch?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Morgan but is there anyway you can come in now"

"It's Saturday! It's my day off, I've got Danny"

"Bring him in, he can play with his toys in your office, Anderson will look after him. Will is bringing Henry with him"

Morgan's heart started to bear faster, the only reason Will would be called in if there was something wrong with J.J. and she was at the conference for female bureau members with Garcia and Blake.

"What's going on Hotch?"

"I'll see you soon" he said and hung up.

Morgan stared at his phone, he couldn't stop his heart from pounding, fearing something could be wrong. He turned slowly to face Danny who'd been patiently waiting, "Daddy has just got to take a trip into work, is that ok?"

The little boy's face lit up, he loved visiting his parents work and seeing all their friends there, "can we go to Mommy's lair?" he asked, the office which contained Garcia's technology had always seemed magical and fascinating to him and it was his favourite place in the BAU.

Derek started the engine, "not today little man, Mommy wouldn't like us going in there without her, but Henry's going to be there to play with"

The cheeky smile reappeared on this face, "yay!" he cried excitedly, although he was considerably younger than the other BAU boys he still enjoyed their company and considered them like older brothers.


	4. Chapter 3

**Retaining Happiness**  
**Chapter 3**

A/N - I'm so glad people are enjoying this, it was inspired by part of a dream I had last year so I've been saving this fic for a while so I'm grateful for the positive response.

* * *

When arriving at the towering building of the FBI headquarters Morgan parked in his usual space near the entrance. He quickly picked Danny up and out of his seat and took his hand, taking him through security and up to the BAU floor.

"Hey Danny!" the voice of Spencer Reid called out as he spotted his younger Godson walking over to him to give him a high five.

"Uncle Spencer!" he cried pushing his hand with force to connect with his larger hand.

"Hey kid, can you take him please? I've got to speak to Hotch" he said looking up at his Unit Chief's office.

Reid looked at him and smiled, "yeah sure, Henry's in your office, we'll go say hi" he said taking Danny's hand leading him up the few steps to Morgan's office.

"Bye Daddy" he called waving frantically.

Derek turned back before he knocked on Hotch's door, "see you soon little man" he replied as he let his knuckles wrap against the hard wood.

"Come in"

Morgan pushed open the door to see Will already occupying a seat on the other side of the desk from Hotch and sat beside him was James Blake.

"Man you better tell me what's going on, I've had all sorts of trouble this morning, Lynch is back!" he cried pacing across the room.

Hotch blinked in surprise but his face was unchanging, "Kevin? Does he know about Danny?"

Derek ran his hand over his bald head, "it was Danny that spotted him so yes he does now! I don't know what to do, I can't tell Garcia until she comes back and you're scaring me by calling me in here, just tell me what the hell's going on!"

"Calm down Morgan, take a seat"

Reluctantly he sat beside James and folded his arms across his chest.

"This afternoon I got a phone call from the New York police department saying there was a hostage situation in one of their hotels, he said he believed it was the one hosting the FBI conference..." he began solemnly.

"Are J.J., Garcia and Blake definitely in there?" Will asked quickly his face getting paler with the news.

"They were ambushed during the second conference of the weekend which began at 2.30 this afternoon, as far as we know all the agents that were supposed to attend are present. Upon entering the conference all agents were required to be unarmed, whoever instigated this attack must have had prior knowledge to this information. We believe they are the same group of men who have been involved in smaller attacks within the area, bank robberies, shop break ins but they have escalated significantly this time. We have had no report of any injuries but surveillance shows that they are armed."

Derek stood up abruptly "we need to go, right now"

"Morgan sit down, you are too emotionally involved. Me, Rossi and Reid are leaving as soon as we've finished" his Unit Chief ordered calmly but firmly.

Morgan ignored him and continued pacing, "Hotch I've got to go and get Penelope, she is eight months pregnant!"

"And the best thing you can do for her right now is to take Danny home and look after him"

"But-"

His boss stood up and looked him directly in the eye, "Morgan, we will bring them home"

* * *

For most of the car journey home there was silence on Morgan's part apart from the occasional 'wow' or 'really?' when responding to the little boy's retelling of the events of his play date. As they routinely did, Morgan made dinner for the two of them, bathed him, got him ready for bed and read him a story. Just as he was about to slide off the side of Danny's bed where he was perched to read the story his stepson turned to him.

"Daddy? Will I see my born Daddy Mr Lynch again?" he asked quietly obviously tired from the day's events.

"We'll see little man, time to sleep now" he said kissing him on the forehead as he stood up.

"How come Mommy didn't call?" Morgan felt a pang in his chest at his innocence and naivety, he had no idea the danger his mother could be in right now, which was obviously the way it needed to stay but Derek found himself envying him.

He gave a false smile in order to convince him everything was ok, "she was probably really busy today but she'll call as soon as she can" he flicked the light switch and stood in the doorway, he watched the little boy's body snuggle deeper into the covers and close his eyes "night Danny"

"Night Daddy" he mumbled, sleep already taking over his body.

Downstairs it was only 7.30pm, early by most people's standards. Morgan placed his phone into the coffee table in front of him in the hope that one of his colleagues would contact him soon with information. He pulled a beer out of the fridge and sat on the couch picking up the TV remote in his free hand and began tediously flicking through the channels as he sipped the refreshing liquid from the can.

It was the news channel that finally caught his attention as the headline across the bottom of the screen read 'Hostage Crisis in New York Hotel' despite his better judgment he turned the volume up slightly desperate to hear some information which his friends were denying him, he needed to know his girl was safe. The news reporter was stood outside the hotel and relayed the facts that it was an FBI conference and that they had been trapped for four hours now by men said to be armed, it was yet unknown what they hope to gain from the exercise. She concluded with the latest break that the colleagues of the agents have arrived in order to hope to restore peace and order without harm coming to anyone involved.

Knowing that Hotch will be limiting press information from then on, he turned off the television and sat in the eery silence. He thought about this time two nights ago, after getting home from work he had dedicated his evening to finishing the nursery, from all his previous home refurbishment it was something he prized himself on.

_"Derek, can I look now please?" Penelope called as her husband guided her into the room scented with the distinct smell of fresh paint covering her eyes with his large, strong hands.  
_

_"Ok ready? Now" he said lifting his hands, she gasped as she looked around in awe. The room was a pastel yellow with a border around the ceiling of little teddy bears and other various cartoon animals, in the centre was a large, wooden crib with soft matching yellow and beige bedding in front of the window which during the daytime would let in natural light but in the evening had a beige blackout blind and checked brown and yellow curtains. In the corner there was a beautiful wooden rocking chair which matched the crib as did the set of wardrobes and changing area. Lastly her eyes fell upon the opposite wall to the crib where there were an array of cuddly toys on the floor but above them hung three large wooden photo frames in a triangular shape. The frame on the left held one of their wedding photos, it was Garcia's favourite, the one of the two of the kissing outside of the church with confetti sprinkling around them like snow, the frame right held the first photo of the three of them after they brought Danny home, they were sat on the sofa in the living room, Morgan had his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulder and between them lay a little bundle wrapped in a blanket, he slept soundly as they looked down at him lovingly. The final and central photo frame was empty, Penelope stared at the blankness confused.  
_

_Morgan wrapped his arms around her extended waist so that his hands rested gently on her bump, "that frame will be filled with the first photo of the four of us as a family so baby will have a record of their life into this world"  
_

_She turned and held his face in her hands, "it's beautiful, I can't wait until the little one is here to see what an incredible job Daddy did for their bedroom"  
_

_"Me neither" he smiled kissing her softly._

As the memory played clearly in his mind he felt tears form in his eyes, he needed to know she was safe, he felt as though part of him was missing without her.

His thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing sound of his phone vibrating against the hard wood. Hotch. He brushed his eyes quickly and composed himself before picking up the phone.

"Yeah Hotch, what news?" he answered. He heard mumbling in the background, "Hotch?"

_"Morgan? The connection isn't great-"_ the voice of his Unit Chief crackled, _"we have managed to secure the building and a back entrance has been located. We have sent a text to J.J. to try to get as many people out that way as possible when it's safe but so far no one has exited"_

"Do you know what they want?"

_"We have just made contact, they say they want a million dollars by 8.00pm or an agent will die every hour until we provide it"_

"Can you not bargain with them, try and get Garcia out? She could go into labour!"

_"I know Morgan, next time they make contact we will try to negotiate, I've got to go, I'll keep you posted"_

* * *

After one final check of his phone Morgan admitted defeat and turned off the lamp beside his bed, submitting to the darkness. The glowing red digits from the clock on his bedside table read '22:37', he sighed and lay on his back, the bed felt cold and empty as he looked up at ceiling, praying silently that his Baby Girl was alright.

After closing his eyes for two minutes he heard the door creak open and a small knock on the door. Derek sat up and adjusted his eyes to the blackness of the night. Standing in the doorway was little Danny rubbing his eye with his clenched fist whilst clutching his worn, brown teddy bear 'Barry Bear'.

"Hey little man, come here, what's wrong?" he asked pulling him up onto the bed as he walked further into the room.

"I had a bad dream, I don't want to sleep on my own"

Morgan smiled and snuggled him close, "well Buddy I don't want to sleep on my own either so you and Barry better get under these covers and sleep here"

Obediently he crawled under the duvet and within ten minutes the two were sound asleep with Danny breathing lightly with his blond curls resting on Derek's chest.


	5. Chapter 4

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 4**

A/N - Thank you for the favourites, follows and reviews, it is very much appreciated.

* * *

"Daddy!" sudden shaking followed the cry.

Morgan groaned, it was far too early for a wakeup call. His world continued to move as he felt tiny fingers wrapped around his shoulders moving them vertically and horizontally in order to attract his attention, "uh huh?" he mumbled unable to open his eyes.

"Your phone is ringing" Danny called sitting cross-legged beside him on the bed.

At that he was suddenly awake, the events of yesterday began to seep into his mind and he knew that the call may be the news he had been waiting for and he scrambled through the sheets to the bedside table to pick up the phone, "Morgan" he answered gruffly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

_"Oh sorry just I'm looking for the world's sexiest husband, do you think you could put him on please?"_

Derek's face melted into a smile and his heart began beating faster at the sound of her voice, a wave of relief rushed over him, "oh Baby Girl" he sighed "you have no idea how worried I've been!"

Garcia scoffed, _"trust me good looking I have a rough idea"_

"What's going on, are you both safe?" he asked picking up Danny with his free arm and placing him into his lap.

_"Yes yes, Hotch took us straight to the hospital first thing and Momma and baby are both fine, I'll explain everything when I get home, I'm just about to get on the jet but I knew I had to speak to you"_

He stroked Danny's hair affectionately, "we'll be waiting beautiful girl, don't you worry"

_"I can't wait to see my boys, I've really got to go, tell Danny I love him and I'll see him really really soon"_

He nodded, "I will do, I love you Penelope"

_"I love you too"_ and with that the phone went dead.

Derek turned Danny in his arms and picked him up and swung him above his head with a broad grin on his face, they were fine, all was right with the world, he couldn't be happier.

"Mommy's coming home Danny, shall we make her a welcome home card?" he grinned broadly and nodded, "and get her some chocolates and flowers?" he nodded once more. "Right you go and get dressed and get your paints and we'll make the card and then on the way to meet her at work we'll get chocolates and flowers, sound good?" he asked holding him in his arms.

"Yeah!" he replied happily.

"Let's go then!" he smiled placing him down.

* * *

The bullpen was quiet as Morgan excited the elevator holding Danny's hand, it was Sunday and the rest of the team were on the jet back from New York so desks and offices were empty. He sat the little boy down on the chair by Reid's desk and placing the gifts for his wife on top. He pulled up a chair and sat beside him as they waited patiently for them to arrive back.

Moments later the elevator opened to reveal Will and Henry, obviously having the same idea as the Morgan boys to come and surprise J.J., soon followed by James who was carrying a large bunch of flowers for his wife.

Only fifteen minutes went by before Derek's phone began buzzing, it was a text from Hotch saying they had just landed and were on their way back. That was their signal, Morgan steadily picked up Danny and placed him on the ground and held his hand while he carried his handmade card with four colourful stick people representing their family and the baby.

As Morgan picked up the presents and stood up the elevator opened and there she was, beaming as she always did but she looked even more radiant than usual. As she stepped out her eyes fixated on the boys and she held her arms open for Danny to run into, his little legs moved like lightening to embrace his mother, he flung himself into her, trying to hug her around the bump protruding from her stomach.

"Mommy, I missed you" he informed her.

Penelope had tears in her eyes as she let go of her little boy and stroked his hair, "I missed you more baby" she replied pulling him close once more.

Derek walked up behind them as she stood up to full height from her crouched position, "hey Momma" he smiled at her.

"Hey yourself" she answered looping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.

A similar reunion was mirrored as Will and Henry greeted J.J. and James , naturally relieved as Morgan was that she was home safe.

The rest of the team watched the reunion with smiles on their faces as with all the tragedy and hurt they see on a daily basis it was good to see some happiness.

* * *

It was his wife's frivolous chatter that made Morgan smile on the car journey home to their house. It was something he usually took for granted, but not today, at the thought that something could have happened to her everything was precious-

"Mommy! I saw my born Daddy, Mr Lynch yesterday"

Morgan's heart suddenly stopped. With all the panic from the last two days he had completely forgotten about his encounter with Kevin. He kept his gaze focused on the road but he could feel Penelope's shocked and confused eyes burning into him, demanding answers.

"Really baby?" she replied struggling to get her words out, "you'll have to tell me all about it at dinner"

Luckily they pulled into their road and the conversation was terminated, unfortunately for Morgan he knew he would be interrogated the minute they were alone.

"Danny you have an hour to play upstairs with your toys until dinner will be ready ok?" Penelope asked hanging up her coat after entering their home.

The little boy was already running up the stairs as he shouted "ok Mommy"

Garcia made her way over to the couch and lay down, propping her swollen ankles on the arm. Derek made his way into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of tea, that always put his wife in a marginally better mood, she still had to tell him the events of the previous day and he had to tell her his.

"Thank you" she smiled weakly as he placed her mug on the coffee table before lifting her feet onto his lap so he could sit on the opposite end of the couch. He began massaging her ankles just as he had been doing over the past few months to soothe her pain.

Although enjoying the relief she raised her head so to look at him, he noted her eyes were narrowed slightly, "what happened?"

He sighed continuing to rub the swollen skin around her ankles, "yesterday, after practice I took Danny to a diner in town and Lynch was there, it was Danny who saw him first and before I could stop him he had already gone over to him. I was so angry, just seeing his face again... but he looked terrible, like some sort of tramp, it was kind of pathetic. I took Danny out to the car and spoke to Lynch outside and I flipped out"

Garcia sat up and looked at him beneath her square purple rimmed glasses.

"P. I honestly thought I was going to kill him, just thinking of how he left you, what state he put you in..." he took a deep breath, "I wanted him to realise what he'd done, I didn't think I would release my hands from around his neck, it was only the thought of Danny being in the car that allowed me to gain some self-control"

Penelope stroked his hand affectionately, "oh my knight in shining armour" she whispered softly giving him a small smile.

Morgan looked her in the eye, "you're not angry?"

She shook her head, "how could I be angry? It's not your fault, just... unfortunate circumstances. What does he think about Danny?"

"He wanted to meet him again, he gave me his number, I said I'd need to speak to you first"

She nodded, "we should meet him before he sees Danny, to see what state he's in. I'm not going to deny him the chance to be in Danny's life but if he is he's got to stay in it, I'm not having him disappointed..." she trailed off.

Morgan took her hand kissed it softly, "he won't be baby, I promise" he continued to hold her hand as he looked her in the eye, "so, are you going to tell me about yesterday?" he asked raising his eyebrows slightly.

"It wasn't all that exciting, we went into the conference and then half an hour in, just as I was about to doze off in struts this group of men wearing ski masks wielding guns about. At first I thought the conference was starting to get interesting with some hands on demonstration but soon enough it was obvious that these guys weren't messing around. Naturally I was terrified but I was with Jayje and Blake who are both incredibly smart and brave, as well as a room full of FBI agents with similar traits. J.J. just told me to relax as she was not in a position to deliver the baby, which I was happy with, the men just got to the front and said if everyone cooperated then no one would get hurt. So we all just sat there and waited, hours and hours went by and nothing happened. At about 10ish I think it was because J.J. received a text off Hotch, that was when he first made contact and demanded the money, he must've said something about me cause the ring leader looked directly at me before saying no. I'm not sure what happened after that, in the night J.J. got another message from Hotch telling her to try to organise the women because whilst the men were off guard was the best time to strike. So Chinese whispers went on to tell them the plan, I had to feign going into labour and then when they were distracted that's when they would overpower them. It worked, who knew my acting skills would be so appropriate in a life and death situation"

"So you saved the day Baby Girl?" he smiled at her.

Penelope shrugged humbly, "it was J.J. and Blake who came up with the plan and Hotch who instigated it, I was just a convenient decoy"

"Yes but if you hadn't acted so well who knows what could've happen, so were they arrested?"

"I assume so, Hotch took me straight to the hospital so I didn't hang around to find out the details and I slept most of the way home. I did hear him say he doesn't believe money was the sole objective though, he said it was about the power and control they got off keeping supposedly the strongest women in the country under their command"

"I thought as much" he mused, "I'm just so glad you're safe Baby"

Penelope grinned "me too Hot Stuff" she held her hand to her mouth as she stifled a yawn "I'm sorry we didn't get much sleep last night, can you make dinner while I just take a nap here for a while?"

Morgan smiled as he was glad they were back together, playing their double act on the mundane married life things that he usually took for granted, he stood up and leant over her, kissing her softly "rest Baby Girl, I've got it all under control"


	6. Chapter 5

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 5**

* * *

It had been three weeks since Garcia's hostage ordeal as she looked in front of the long mirror in her bedroom. She was carefully placing bright, elaborate earrings through the holes in her earlobes and despite her usual confident persona, today she was nervous. Today was the day that her and Morgan had arranged to meet Kevin again and the thought of seeing the man who had ruined her life for a good few months after disappearing scared her.

In the mirror she saw the reflection of her husband walking up behind her and wrapping his long, strong arms around the now even larger bump which protruded out of her abdomen. He kissed her softly on the neck before nibbling at her ear.

"If you don't want to do this baby, just say the word" he whispered softly.

Still looking at his reflection Penelope sighed, "no, we have to do this, for Danny"

Morgan turned her in his arms so she faced him, he brushed her hair from around her face and cupped her cheeks with his hands, "just concentrate on me not killing the bastard and you won't have to focus on that lowlife, ok?"

She smiled weakly up at him, "ok"

"As long as we're together, we are unbreakable" he stated pulling her close so he could hold her the way he always did when he knew she wasn't one hundred percent ok.

Garcia looked up at the clock over Morgan's shoulder, "time to go Hot Stuff"

* * *

After dropping Danny off at J.J. and Will's Morgan parked the car in the same spot he had three weeks ago when he had first encounter Lynch. They had agreed on the diner as it was a mutual location where they could discuss what needed to be discussed and there was no way he was having him into their home.

Clasping Penelope's hand tightly they walked slowly into the diner, it didn't take long for Morgan to notice the rugged image of Lynch that was sat in the same booth as last time. Walking slightly ahead of his wife, so as if to protect her, he headed towards him.

Lynch looked up as they walked over, his eyes fell upon the woman who was once the love of his life, he would have done anything for her, "Penny?" he whispered standing up.

Garcia winced at the use of her old nickname, she had never liked being called Penny. She bit her lip looked down at the ground, she wasn't ready for this, "hello Kevin" she mumbled continuing to hold tightly to Derek's hand whilst avoiding eye contact. She slid into the booth first so that Morgan would be facing Lynch but still he kept staring at her through his filthy thick-rimmed glasses.

"You're looking well" he added trying to begin a conversation, fortunately Derek had other ideas.

"She does not wish to talk to you Lynch, we're here about Danny, nothing more" he stated, narrowing his eyes, "we need to know what your intentions are"

He tilted his head in confusion, "intentions?"

Morgan gritted his teeth in annoyance, "yes, we need to know how stable your life is and how much involvement in Danny's life you're hoping to gain"

Lynch pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at Penelope who continued to look away, "well er, I came back because a relative of mine had died, it wasn't going to be a permanent visit, I've lived in Sweden for the past 5 years and it's great, so tranquil, I have a girlfriend, Louisa-"

"That's great" Morgan said sarcastically "but where does Danny fit into this, you've had 3 weeks to think about it Lynch, if you weren't planning on sticking around you should have just gone back to Sweden, we are not having him being confused by you"

"I have no intention of confusing him, I know I can't be a permanent figure in his life but I'd like him to know who I am and that I do still care for him, I could write him letters or emails"

Garcia looked at him for the first time, "he needs more than letters and emails Kevin, he's a little boy not your penpal. He needs love, stability and as much as you may want to be in his life, you can't give him those things from halfway around the world" she said simply.

"I know" he replied quietly.

Penelope turned to her husband and smiled, "Baby just give us a minute ok"

Morgan frowned, "I don't think-"

She held a finger to his lips, "handsome I know you're just being protective, and I love you for that but it's Kevin, I know what I'm doing"

Derek looked from Penelope to Lynch and then sighed, he needed to trust her and give her some space. Slowly he stood up and walked towards the bathrooms, not breaking eye contact with him.

"I can't believe you actually got with him" Lynch murmured snidely, his shyness beginning to evaporate.

"This isn't about me and Derek Kevin, this is about our son. I tried so hard to contact you, to let you be a part of his life but I couldn't and as soon as he was old enough to understand I told him about you, I always wanted him to know his father. Of course he doesn't fully understand, how could he? But Derek has been the best Dad he can for him and he always will be."

Kevin smirked, his demeanor had changed from that pathetic, nervous man that he became when Derek Morgan was looking over his shoulder, "but he's not his father, I am, nothing can change that"

Penelope shook her head, "there's a great difference to being his father genetically and being his Dad. A Dad is the one who takes you to your first baseball game, teaches you how to ride a bike, is there cheering for you every week when you practice soccer. He is the one who purposely loses at video games to see the joy on your face when you win, he carries you on his shoulders when you are too tired to walk and makes you feel like you're flying high above the clouds. Most of all your Dad is your hero and there is no-one you would rather grow up to be than him. Derek is Danny's hero Kevin, he always has been, he made him his own FBI vest and fake credentials and no matter how tired he is when he comes home from work, he will play catching the bad guys with him for hours. That is a Dad."

"Not like I got a chance, even if I had been here it sounds like he would have wormed his way in, just like he always did"

She shook her head, "no Kevin, it was your choice to cut yourself off, granted you didn't know I was pregnant but anything could have happened and you wouldn't have known because you selfishly left and so gave up any right you would have had. We are trying to give you the opportunity to have a second chance but if you're not going to cooperate then we don't bother, you can go back to your perfect life in Sweden"

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't broken up with me, we could've been happy you, me and Danny but no, I would never be as good as Mr Hotshot over there"

She sighed irritably, her patience was wearing thin, she had quite forgotten how annoying her ex-boyfriend could be, "it's not my fault I didn't love you enough to want to marry you, coming here was obviously a mistake, you are far too selfish to think of anyone before yourself!" she cried immediately she tried to calm down but it was already too late, she feel that her waters had broken. She whipped her head round desperately looking for her husband, thankfully Derek was waltzing out of the men's wiping his hands on his jeans. Immediately he saw the panic in her eyes and sprinted over to her.

"What've you done to her?" he growled.

Kevin held his hands up defensively, "I haven't done anything, are you going to bully me again Agent Morgan?"

He chose to ignore him as he had bigger problems, "is it happening? Is it time?" he asked beginning to become flustered himself, although he had been there throughout her labour with Danny, it was still a nerve wracking process.

She screwed her face up in pain as she nodded sharply.

"Ok Baby Girl listen to me, put your arm around me and I'll get you to the car and take you straight to the hospital"

As she managed to balance herself against Derek whilst doubled over in pain during a contraction Lynch frowned, "what's going on?" he asked stupidly.

"She's going into labour you idiot!" Morgan cried as he walked his wife through the diner and out into the car park.

He quickly began starting the engine, "just keep breathing baby, we're only ten minutes away"

"Yes Derek because the fact that I'm in agony and about to have a baby completes cuts off all common sense so for me to forget to do the one thing keeping me alive!" she snapped, "oh God I'm sorry D" she gasped and turned to him, "Danny!"

Morgan opened the car door and helped his wife inside, "I'll call J.J. from the car, let her know what's happening but right now we need to go"

As he watched the black SUV speed off down the road Kevin Lynch stood in the car park and his mind was racing. He didn't know if it was out of desperation or just plain anger that the idea sprung into his mind but he knew that he didn't have much time to carry out his sudden, genius plan and a large, cruel grin spread across his face as he turned back towards diner.


	7. Chapter 6

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 6**

A/N - Thank you so much for the beautiful feedback I truly appreciate it, sorry this chapter is a bit shorter but it is nonetheless important.

* * *

The sound of the telephone ringing in the LaMontagne household was muffled by the sounds of two little boys playing loudly and happily from upstairs. J.J. smiled as she balanced three year old Anna on her hip and walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She could see out of her peripheral vision that her daughter still had a deep frown on her face. This foul mood was often the case when Danny and Henry spent time together as when Henry was not there Danny was her friend and they played together, but when it was just the boys she was not welcome. Henry had always treated Danny as his younger brother and to J.J. it was always a joy to hear pleasant sounds of laughter filling the household as opposed to the ever more frequent fighting which occurred between her children as sibling rivalry was beginning to emerge.

These were the small insights she had begun to fill her best friend in with the previous night as they sat in her living room having one of their long, let's talk about everything chats. It wasn't long before Penelope's worries about meeting Kevin again were disclosed. Like the rest of the BAU J.J. was fully aware of the trauma that Lynch's disappearing act had caused and like Morgan she was on edge ready to protect her best friend from anymore hurt. She hoped that the meeting was going well, the last thing that family needed at that moment was Kevin Lynch putting a spanner in the works and attempting to break them apart.

"Boys! Keep it down please" she called up the stairs, she was about to pick up the receiver when Henry came bounding down the stairs.

"Mom? Can me and Danny have some snacks?" he asked holding onto the banister, looking at her with his big blue eyes.

She nodded and shooed him away with her hand as she picked up the phone and held it to her ear, "hello? Morgan is that you?" Anna began to wriggle under her left arm wanting to follow her brother causing J.J. to become distracted, "hold on Anna getting restless, I'll take the phone into the kitchen"

As J.J. turned her back on her front door she failed to notice the scruffy looking man entering her house without permission.

Five minutes later when she returned the phone to its holder nothing seemed out of place, "Danny?" she called up the stairs, she knew how excited he would be to know that his baby brother or sister would be arriving soon. She frowned at the lack of response from her Godson, "Henry can you go and get Danny for me please?"

Her son exited the kitchen with a plate full of various sweet treats and he smiled cheekily at his mother before he returned up the stairs. It was only a moment later when he returned down.

When he stood on the stairs looking at his mother he looked horrified, "Mom, Danny's not there"

J.J.'s heart sunk and panic immediately set in, her best friend was going through one of the greatest physical and emotional ordeals a woman can go through and she was responsible for her son, and he was missing.

She swallowed and tried to remain calm, she forced a smile to reassure her son, "are you sure? Have you checked all the rooms upstairs?"

He nodded firmly, "uh huh"

"Ok let's check everywhere again before we begin to worry, you look outside in the garden" she said more confidently than she felt, they had only been in the kitchen, if he had come downstairs and into any other room except out the front door they would have seen him. With both his parents in the FBI Danny was not the type of child who would wander off from a secure location, he had always been very smart and cautious, in the back of her mind there was the nagging feeling that something was very wrong.

* * *

It had been a long car journey full of endless questions and mindless chatter. At one point Kevin Lynch thought he was ready to shoot himself. He had not had much experience in the world of children, he only had one nephew but he was at college now, worlds away from the life of a five year old boy and they had had never really had a relationship. No matter how irritated he was though his plan had worked, and he was finally going to get his own family.

He knew even if Penelope hadn't gone into labour he would have been caught in his own web of lies, there was no Louisa in Sweden, he was a basic computer hacker for the Swedish government living in a rundown apartment with barely enough money to live on. The only reason he stayed away so long was that he was ashamed to return but the death of his mother finally gave him an excuse. It seemed fate that he should run into the son he never knew he had, it was a chance to start again, he would be able to live his life for his Danny.

He looked over his shoulder to the backseat of the car where his son was sound asleep his blond hair covering his face slightly. Kevin couldn't help but think he was the image of his mother. His heart began to ache when he thought of Penelope, he didn't want to hurt her but he couldn't stand the thought of that man being a Dad to his son. They were about to start their own family, why couldn't he have his?

As he pulled into the drive of his late mother's house miles away from the busyness of Quantico he sighed and placed his head on the steering wheel. He hadn't thought about this plan long term, he had told Danny that his Mom had asked him to pick him up so they could spend some time together, he didn't know how long he would be able to keep the boy quiet, he had grown up in the world of the FBI. Then there was the precious BAU as soon as J.J. realises Danny was missing the entire team would be on the case and it wouldn't take them long to piece together that it was him that took him. He also knew as soon as Derek Morgan found out he would personally vow to hunt him down to bring Danny back.

Kevin knew he needed a plan and fast.


	8. Chapter 7

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 7**

A/N - Thank you for the wonderful reviews, I am so glad you are enjoying the story.

* * *

"Come on Penelope, you're doing brilliantly, just one more push"

Garcia could barely hear the woman's encouragement as the pain she was enduring was excruciating and she could not concentrate. She could not believe she had the strength to go through this a second time, Danny was bad enough why had she thought nine months ago that it would be clever to go through it all again. She didn't want to push anymore, she was exhausted and she had been in that hospital for hours. She just wanted it to be over.

"Come on Baby Girl I believe in you, you can do it" came the soothing words of her husband over all the commotion. Penelope looked up at his beautiful, calm face, after she had screamed such words of abuse at him she was surprised he was still there, but that was her husband, loyal as ever.

She took a deep breath, she was doing this for him, for them, for their soon to be born child. He had been there the last time but it wasn't the same, this would be his flesh and blood coming into the world.

"Arghhhhhhh" she screamed as she pushed as hard as she could when she felt the pain of the contraction. She couldn't exactly pinpoint the amount of time but then, as if in a parallel world, she heard the cries of her newly born child. She rested her head back on the soft pillow and closed her eyes, it was over, her baby was alive.

Derek squeezed his wife's hand and kissed her head, the sudden rush of relief came over him as well, they had done it, despite everything their baby was there. He glanced down to see Penelope's eyelids already becoming heavy, he stroked her face so to keep her awake for a moment more, "hey beautiful girl, you need to stay awake a little longer to see all your hark work!"

She smiled distantly, fluttering her eyes open whilst Morgan looked up at the nurse eagerly. The red headed midwife beamed at him as she held the bundle out for him to take, "would you like to hold your daughter Mr Morgan?"

Derek choked back the tears as heard the nurse's words. His daughter. He gently took the tiny bundle and held her in his arms studying every part of her: her caramel skin, the small tuft of black hair, her tightly shut eyes and her tiny clasping fingers. It was all them.

He sat on the bed as Garcia opened her eyes again, "say hello to your Mommy" he whispered placing their daughter in her arms.

Tears fell down Penelope's face as she stroked her daughter's head gently, "welcome to the world little one" she whispered as Derek put his arm firmly around her.

The little girl scrunched up her eyes tightly and pushed her arm into the air before returning to her quiet sleeping position. The midwife returning back into the room clutching a clipboard and smiled at the couple warmly, "you better make the most of it while she's like this, they're not angels for long" she chuckled.

Derek continued to smile down at his daughter, "don't worry, we've done this before"

"Oh that's lovely, how old's big brother or sister?" she asked as she continued to write down notes for the necessary paperwork.

Garcia's heart warmed at the thought of her son, he had so looked before to being a big brother so she knew how excited he would be upon hearing his baby sister had been born, "Danny, he's four and he should be tucked up in bed by now but I think we may be able to make an exception and see if he's still awake to come and see his sister"

Morgan nodded and looked at his watch it was nearing 10pm which would be extremely late for Danny to still be awake but if he was sleeping over at Henry's anyway it was rare that he kept to his bedtime routine. As he pulled away and stood up he saw Penelope stifle a yawn with her free hand, "Baby Girl I think it's time you got some rest" he suggested taking the tiny baby from her arms and cradling her in his own, "I'll go and call J.J. and tell her the good news and see if she can bring Danny to meet his new little sister"

The midwife had since finished taking her notes and turned to Morgan, "I think that's a good idea Mom" she agreed, "I'll take this one to get the boring hospital stuff done while she's still being as good as gold"

Derek gently placed his daughter in the woman's arms before turning back to his wife, he leant down and kissed her softly on the lips, "I'll be right back, I'm so proud of you Mrs Morgan"

"And I you baby" she whispered with her eyes closed before turning her back on him and beginning to doze.

Morgan couldn't imagine he could feel this happy again, he continued to keep beaming exited the delivery room and went into the hallway to dial the number. He heard the click of somebody answer the phone but he didn't wait for a greeting, "it's a girl! We've got a little girl" he cried excitedly so to turn the heads of passing nurses and cause them to frown at him. There was no response, "J.J.?" he asked.

He heard short, quiet whimpers done the phone, his smile slowly began to disappear, "J.J.?" he repeated a little firmer.

There's was crackling as the phone changed hands, "Morgan?" came the southern New Orleans accent of Will.

"Will what's going on?" he asked sensing something was very wrong.

"Morgan you need to come here now" Will replied slowly.

Derek swallowed and shook his head as he began pacing around the hospital waiting area, "no Penelope has just had the baby I need to be with her, tell me what the hell is going on!" he hissed.

Further crackling as he assumed the phone was passing hands once more, "Morgan, you need to calm down" the voice of his Unit Chief said to him in his usual serious tone.

Millions of questions were going through his mind, why was Hotch there? What was so serious that J.J. called him? Was she alright? Was Henry? Anna? Danny? Why would no one tell him a damn thing?

His heart began to beat faster, this was not the phone call he had envisioned, he wanted to express his pride and excitement of the birth of his new baby daughter but instead he was being overcome by the opposite emotions. He took a deep breath, "Hotch please just tell me what is going on"

There was a momentary silence, "Danny is missing Derek"


	9. Chapter 8

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 8**

A/N - Thank you again for the reviews, favourites and follows! Yes this chapter is mainly Lynch-focused but don't worry it's not too long, I just think it's important for the story to get the perspective of both sides. Hope you enjoy it nevertheless and Happy Easter!

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Kevin was unsure how long he had driven for when he heard the sounds of the little boy awakening behind him in the early hours of the morning. He was pretty sure he was out of state but in which direction he did not know. In his desperate attempt to leave Virginia he had stolen a car a few towns away, traded license plates and disappeared into the night, he wasn't proud of what he was doing but he hoped he would be able to return to Sweden without being detected. He just wanted to be with his son.

"Mr Lynch?" Danny called sleepily from the backseat, "where are we? Are we seeing Mommy and Daddy now?"

He pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed at his innocence, he was clueless to this insane kidnapping attempt, it almost made him want to turn around and take him back to Penelope but knowing that_ he_ would be there made his blood curl. He would not have his son growing up with that arrogant, girlfriend stealing ken doll. No, he wouldn't turn back now, he couldn't. His future, his happiness depended on this new life he was constantly creating and perfecting in his mind.

It was the life he was envisioning which was worlds away from the one he was leading currently which allowed him to carry out the illegal, ridiculous actions he had undertaken. It would be the life he had always wanted, the life he wanted when he first escaped to the seemingly idealistic rural, Swedish countryside but now he would be sharing that life with his son. It took all his will to snap out of his perfect illusion and focus on reality for the time being. to achieve that end goal Kevin needed to first escape the grasps of the BAU. Thankfully he had a friend who could get him excellent fake passports as being a technical analyst had its perks and soon they would be away from there, and away from _him_.

"Uh no not yet Danny, did I not tell you? We're going on a little trip so Mommy and" he paused and took winced as he snarled "Daddy" out of hate and disgust of the connotations of that word as it should be himself who held that title, "can have a little bit of time alone before the baby comes"

Danny's face crumpled, he looked as if he was going to cry, "oh" he replied quietly sitting back and looking at his lap, "I don't have my things, I don't have Barry Bear"

Kevin looked at his son's lip quivering in the rear view mirror and his heart broke for him. He pulled the car over to a stop as soon as he was able, "come into the front seat a minute Danny" he said softly. Obediently the little boy looked up before clambering over the seats into the front of the unfamiliar car. Kevin stroked his thick blond hair, "I want you to tell me about yourself, what do you like doing? What are you favourite toys? Food? Colour?"

He looked up at the older man, his brown eyes sparkling beneath his fringe, his frown suddenly changing from that of sadness to that of concentration, "I like cheeseburgers and blue and my friend Billy from school and drawing and going to Mommy's lair and games on Mommy's play phone and playing catch the bad guys with Daddy, I'm gonna be a profiler when I grow up!" he listed, his brow furrowing deeper as he thought harder, "I like playing with Henry and Jack and Anna and Uncle Spencer and Auntie J.J. and Uncle Dave and Uncle Aaron and Auntie Alex and-"

"-Uh huh" Kevin replied unenthusiastically, he did not want to hear about their happy family life with the BAU team and the connections his son had made with the people who had betrayed him, "so you playing on apps huh?" he asked smiling down at him. Danny nodded excitedly forgetting about his prior sadness, "do you want to play on mine, you can draw or play music or watch a movie, take a look" he smiled handing him his phone.

Wide eyed he beamed at the electrical device in his hand as if all his Christmas' had come at once as he had been presented with a newfound freedom, "thank you" he replied politely, remembering the manners his parents had hammered into him.

Kevin nodded, "you're very welcome" he said as he began to navigate the little boy to what he desired, he was thankful that Danny had inherited an interest in technology that both himself and his mother shared, at least then he had some common ground and he could keep him entertained for the time being.

Upon finding an app which allowed him to draw on a blank screen Danny began to carefully drag his finger across the glass so a single colourful line formed, he smiled proudly at what he had achieved and continued to create his masterpiece. It wasn't long before he was eager to show off his drawing to 'Mr Lynch', as he held the phone at arm's length Kevin squinted at the colourful screen confused, the mind and imagination of a four year old was still foreign to him, "that's great Danny, what's that a drawing of?"

"The baby of course!" he cried with a big grin on his face, "can I draw again Mr Lynch?"

He looked up, "yes Danny, you can do whatever you want", as his son began to concentrate again Kevin's heart sank a little, he had hoped that he would have drawn a picture of him but even he wasn't deluded enough to believe that he could establish a relationship within 24 hours. Thankfully, if everything went according to plan he would have a lot longer to become closer to his son.

As they sat in the car in the early hours of the morning he continued to watch the joy spread across his son's face. Although the future was uncertain he knew this was something he could treasure, he was spending time with his son, and no one could take these moments away from him.


	10. Chapter 9

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 9**

A/N - Thank you again for the support! I love hearing different feedback and people's outlooks on the story so thank you!

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Derek suddenly felt awfully dizzy, through his job he had he dealt with child murderers, child abductors and the worst of society but this was his family, this affected him in a completely different way.

"Morgan?" Hotch's voice called down the phone, "stay there I'm coming to the hospital"

Snapping back into reality he said loudly, "don't tell her please" his voice cracking with emotion, he looked back towards the delivery room, "she is so happy she can't know yet, it'll destroy her"

He heard muffled voices from the other end of the phone, "me and Dave will be there in ten minutes"

Derek ran his hands over his head, this could not be happening, today was supposed to be the happiest day of his life and all too quickly it was dissolving away.

He knew that it was no coincidence that the day they meet with Kevin that Danny goes missing. He was there, he knew that Penelope was going into labour and he heard him say he was at J.J.'s and he took his chance.

He didn't know what to do. He paced angrily in the waiting area in the late hours of the night. Penelope would be wondering what was taking him so long soon, what would he tell her? She couldn't know, not today, he hoped he would be able to find him and bring him home before she would notice.

Finally Derek took a deep breath and composed himself before re-entering the delivery room. His heart melted as he saw his little girl snoring lightly on her mother's chest who was also dozing against the soft pillows after her great physical ordeal.

"Hey" he whispered taking the bundle out of his wife's arms, "are you going to come and see your Daddy?" she gave a small whine in response keeping her eyes tightly shut, he smiled forgetting his worries momentarily.

Garcia's eyes flickered open, "hey" she smiled weakly "is Danny coming?"

Derek's heart sank and he swallowed trying to put on a calm persona which he had perfected from a young age, "not yet baby, it's really late he's sound asleep he'll come to see us tomorrow" he replied keeping his voice steady, "Hotch and Rossi are coming in to see her though"

She smiled again and nodded, "we need to give her a name"

Morgan looked down at the sleeping little girl in his arms, "yeah we do" he replied distantly unable to fully concentrate knowing what he knew.

Penelope frowned, she didn't need to be a profiler to read her husband like a book, "what's wrong?"

He snapped his head up and gave her a small smile, "nothing's wrong"

"It is" she protested, "I know you Derek Morgan, what's going on?"

Derek opened his mouth, his mind frantically trying to think up a plausible excuse but nothing was coming, perhaps honesty was the best policy? "I-" he began before he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and the two senior profilers appearing with smiles on their faces.

"Where is she?" Rossi cried holding his arms out to take her from Morgan, "oh she is the image of you two, she has your eyes Garcia, and Derek- well let's hope she has your charm!" he chuckled.

Hotch stepped back as Rossi distracted Garcia by cooing over the baby, Morgan stood up and spoke quietly with him.

"Hotch what are we doing? How are we going to get Danny back before Penelope finds out?" he hissed before looking back over to the bed to ensure she couldn't hear him, "you know it's Lynch right?"

He nodded solemnly, "he is our prime suspect, Henry said he remembered seeing a scruffy looking man matching your description of Kevin's current appearance out of his bedroom window. We tracked his car but it had been left at his mother's house but another car a few blocks away was stolen this evening, we assume it was him. We have sent out an APB out on the license plate but he is not stupid, even if this was an impulsive decision he will have a plan by now and he could have switched plates" Hotch gave another side glance at Rossi and Garcia, "we need to know exactly what Kevin said when you saw him, as far as we know he has been in little contact with anyone apart from you two. Where was he all these years? Something has to happened to him to make him this desperate and he must have an endgame"

Derek opened his mouth to answer when Garcia shot them a look, "don't let her get all the attention from Uncle Dave, she needs her Uncle Aaron too" she beamed as Hotch gave a small smile walking over and taking the little bundle into his arms. Holding a baby always cast his mind back to when Jack was born, he was so tiny he was convinced he was going to break him but as usual Haley reassured him he wouldn't. His heart pained in his chest as he thought about his late wife and that moment when they brought their son into the world. Although he had seen Beth for two years they had had to separate due to her taking a promotion abroad, he did not think it was fair to Jack to have that instability. That was the excuse he used anyway. The truth was he knew that no-one would ever replace Haley, she always brought something out in him that he feared would never be brought out again, she was the woman who gave her life for their son and for him. She was irreplaceable.

"She is truly beautiful" he said attempting to prevent the emotion in his voice but it was hard to control it seeping in, "congratulations, both of you"

Morgan smiled, "right I think both Mommy, Daddy and baby need some rest" he said taking his daughter from Hotch and placing her into the plastic crib beside Garcia. He then leant down and kissed his half asleep wife on the lips, "I'll see you in the morning Baby Girl, I love you"

She gave a tired smile with her eyes closed, "I love you too Hot Stuff" she whispered before sinking into a deep sleep as physical and mental exhaustion overcame her.

As soon as the three men exited the room Morgan turned to them suddenly, "we need to all meet in the BAU now" his eyes were dark with the anger and hurt he had been concealing whilst in Penelope's presence.

Rossi shook his head, "Morgan don't be ridiculous it's the middle of the night, we can't go to the BAU"

"Fine!" he snapped, "your house, my house I don't care, all I care about is finding Danny safe and fast"

Hotch nodded, "he's right Dave, we don't have much time, we'll call Reid, Blake and J.J. and ask them to meet us at yours" as they were about to leave the Unit Chief placed a hand on Morgan's forearm, "don't give J.J. a hard time, none of this is her fault, she is as distraught as you are"

Morgan gave a snort but inside knew his Unit Chief was right, whoever's house Danny had been at Kevin would've wormed his way in and gotten what he wanted but in his mind it was easy to blame someone, despite her being his friend and despite her being innocent.

Before leaving the hospital he took one look back to the room where Penelope and his unnamed daughter slept soundly. She was blissfully ignorant to the troubles that were occurring within their family, and for now he wanted to keep it that way.


	11. Chapter 10

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 10**

A/N - Thank you all for your opinions and feedback, I read every review and take them on board so thank you again!

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The 'Rossi Mansion' was quiet and dark as the three male FBI entered and soon began to make themselves busy setting up a workspace in the early hours of the morning. They sat around the long, wooden table as Hotch began making phone calls to his contacts at the state police and bureaus in order as it was clear that Kevin would have made it out of Virginia by now.

The men were startled out of their thoughts by the clear ringing of the doorbell, for Morgan it shook him into reality as he was consuming himself into finding his stepson that nothing else mattered. He looked up as Reid, J.J. and Blake entered the spacious dining room.

"Morgan are you ok?" Blake asked as they sat in the empty seats around the table. Out of all the agents J.J. was uncharacteristically reserved. She was quiet and kept her arms wrapped close around her chest, she saw Danny as a second son and it was evident she blamed herself for his disappearance. She averted eye contact with Morgan keeping her gaze on her lap, the guilt continuing to consume her.

He gave a grunt in response, "I'll be a lot better once Danny's home safe and I can get my hands on that wretched man!" he snarled keeping his eyes firmly on the table.

His teammates looked anxiously at each other, "how's Garcia and the baby?" Alex continued.

"Fine" he replied shortly refusing to acknowledge his friends' presence until they began helping him find Danny.

Rossi rolled his eyes at Morgan, he needed to calm down, he was not the first member of the team who has had his family in danger. At least they know Lynch and they profiled he wants Danny for himself to create his own family, not to hurt him as could have easily been the case with Jack or Henry in the past, "they're perfect" said with a small smile, "she's an absolute angel at the moment, she slept the whole time we were there, she certainly doesn't get that from her Dad"

Morgan continued to brood barely hearing Rossi's words, it seemed unfitting that they were discussing and complementing his newborn baby daughter when his stepson had been taken by a madman. In the back of his mind he wished they could sit around celebrating, laughing and wetting the baby's head and although she would never remember this she deserved the attention that every baby should have when they enter the world. He hoped that he would find Danny imminently and then his attention could turn back to his wife and their baby.

"Does she know?" J.J. asked quietly, addressing her friend for the first time, Penelope was her best friend she needed to know how she was.

Derek looked up slowly and met her gaze, "no" he replied shortly again before returning his eyes to the paper in front of him.

Reid stood up and pull a nationwide map out onto the table with his usual scrawling all over it, "I have been calculating geographical perimeters that Kevin could have travelled to. Taking into consideration the time the car was stolen, the maximum speed he would have been travelling, the amount of fuel that was in the car and the breaks he would've had to have taken for Danny, this is the furthest he could've travelled" he explained pointing to the red circle spreading through Maryland, West Virginia and North Carolina.

"So which direction is he most likely headed? I've never met the man, this puts me at a slight disadvantage" Blake stated looking at map.

Morgan scoffed, "I wish I had never met him"

Rossi smiled in spite of the situation, "we could really do with a technical analyst right now but our best one is hospital and our second choice is our unsub, this is sorry sight"

Hotch looked over at Derek, as he had been the only one of the group who had recently had contact with Kevin he was their best hope, "Morgan can you remember if he said anything that could help us?"

"Sorry, I'm not the one in the group that has an eidetic memory" he snapped before looking up at the worried faces staring back at him, "I'm sorry everyone" he sighed before thinking hard about his conversation with Lynch, "he mentioned Sweden, he said he'd been living in Sweden, do you think he might be taking Danny there?"

"It's a strong possibility if he wishes to start afresh with him, another country would be the easiest especially if he already has ties there" Hotch stated looking at the faces of his team. It was clear that their heads were not as focused as if they were detached emotionally from the case. Each of them loved Danny, with both of his parents in their team he was the child who spent the most time in the BAU and therefore became closer with everyone making this a much more difficult task. This was not just another child that had been taken, this was their Danny, and nobody hurt a member of their family. Despite being as angry and as emotionally invested as the rest of the team Hotch knew he had to keep a level head and lead his team in the right direction so they're able to bring him home safely.

Rossi nodded, "and it would be at this part in our story that usually we would call Garcia and ask her to search for all the airports within Reid's radius which have flights out to Sweden"

J.J. sighed, "I think this just highlights what a crucial member of our team she is, we couldn't solve a case without her, but what are we going to do now she's not here?"

"I hate to state the obvious but I think she has a right to know" Rossi said quietly, "I know you think she's fragile Morgan but she's stronger than you give her credit for. You know we stand a much better chance of finding Danny with her help and she will never forgive you if he is taken to another country and we couldn't stop it from happening and we didn't tell her"

Morgan listened to Rossi's words carefully, he knew he was right, she was far too stubborn and this was far too important not to tell her. Time was running out, who knew what that leech Lynch was planning at that very moment, if there was one person who could get inside his head it was Penelope, "ok" he replied finally, "let's do what we can tonight and then in the morning we will tell her what we know"


	12. Chapter 11

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 11**

A/N - Again thank you for the support and your reviews, they mean a lot! Please keep sharing your opinions and feedback, I love hearing it!

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Kevin knocked sharply on the thick wooden door which was the entrance to his best friend's home. The area was suburban and each of the houses on the estate were physically identical, each with perfectly groomed front gardens and new registration cars which was an indication of wealth. The identity of a genius computer hacker and forger was masked behind the white picket fence lifestyle.

The morning sun was shining brightly just above the houses and he squinted up at it as he gently massaged his neck. The pain was a reminder of the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements he had endured the previous night. He knew it would have been too risky to book into a hotel so after parking in the most inconspicuous area he could find he told his son his first bedtime story as he began snoring lightly across the backseats of the vehicle before finally drifted off to sleep in the driver's seat of the stolen car himself.

No movement could be heard from the other side of the door, this made Kevin anxious. He was racing against the clock before the BAU made the necessary connections, if he didn't get out of the country today he never would.

"Maybe nobody's home" the little boy standing at his left hip clutching his hand offered. He smiled up at him, though he was confused and upset at his upheaval from normality, Kevin admired his son for his kindness and acceptance that he had shown towards this stranger who had suddenly entered his life.

He mirrored his smile and nodded, "maybe you're right, I'll knock once more to be sure" and with that his knuckles made contact with the hard wood firmly once more.

Just as they were about to turn away footsteps could be heard approaching slowly. The tinkling of metal indicated the chain was being removed from the door and the key turned in the lock. Through Marty Goodwin's line of work, security was of the highest importance as he worked unlawfully.

His bright blue eyes glanced around the door briefly to identify his visitors. He gave a sigh and pushed the door open further to reveal a short, unshaven man to whom hygiene did not seem a priority. His thick brown hair stuck up in every direction including over his large spectacles which covered the majority of his face whilst the rest was covered by stubble. He wore a loud floral shirt with a variety of stains which showed the remnants of dinners of long ago, beige shorts which were folded just above his knees and he embraced the long accepted fashion disaster of wearing socks with sandals.

Kevin knew he had never been the most fashionable of men but it was clear Marty had become a recluse, restricting his days of solitude to his work and his computer. It had been years since he had seen his best friend but he was barely unrecognisable in comparison to his considerably cooler roommate in college.

Marty's eye immediately flitted to Danny who politely smiled up at him and waved his chubby little hand. With both Penelope and Derek being overly confident, there was little shyness in this boy.

"Well well well Mr. FBI, what mess have you got yourself into now?" his gravelly voice, hardened by years of consistent smoking, asked as he leant against the doorframe.

Kevin gave a small smile, "it's good to see you too Marty, can we come in?"

He gave a short nod before opening his arm out inviting them inside. The interior of the house had not changed since the first time Kevin had stepped inside, the decor was dull and simplistic as was the furniture which occupied the space except his back room where he worked which was a technological wonderland filled with many computers and printers which completed his required tasks.

Danny crinkled his nose as he walked inside, he did not know that the revolting smell which was polluting his nostrils was that was stale cigarettes, alcohol and food which had forgotten to be thrown away, he just knew he didn't like it.

He caught a glimpse of the flashing lights and the bright screens of his office and he was mesmerised. He tugged on Kevin's hand, "it looks like Mommy's lair" he gasped wistfully.

Kevin's heart pained in his chest, he remembered well the days he had spent visiting Penelope in her office or helping her with cases that she couldn't work alone, he would give anything to be back there.

"So" Marty began sitting down in a faded brown armchair opposite where Kevin and Danny had sat on large, matching couch "to what do I owe this pleasure Kevy?"

He swallowed nervously cautious of what his son would hear so he turned to him and smiled, "hey Danny, do you remember how much fun you had on my phone yesterday?" the little boy's head nodded excitedly in response, "would you like to sit at that table over there and play on it?"

"Yes please!" he exclaimed as he took the phone from him and quickly sat several metres away at the dining room table, before soon disappearing into a world of his own.

Marty's gaze moved from Danny back to Kevin, "you were saying?"

"It's a long story, basically I moved to Sweden five years ago" he began.

His friend scoffed, "yeah I got the postcard"

He looked down embarrassed, "it was a last minute thing, it was because, you remember I was dating Penelope? Well I proposed to her and she said no so I moved away. I came home about a month ago cause Mother died when by chance I meet that" he took a sideways glance at Danny and lowered his voice, "son of a bitch Derek Morgan and the boy, I find out he's married to Penelope and brought up my son as his own because she found out she was pregnant after I left. I then met up with her to talk about Danny when she went into labour, cause now she's pregnant with his kid, so then I took him and now I need to get out the country to start a new life with him"

Marty simply looked at him and scratched his beard in thought, "I'm sorry about your Ma, she was a good woman" he stated shaking his head slightly, "as for you and the kid, I'll do whatever I can to help you cause to be honest Kev you've had God-awful luck and you deserve a break. You headed back to Sweden?"

Kevin nodded, "hopefully, my Mother left me her entire estate so I've got money to start afresh but I've got the BAU team on my case and no doubt they'll trace me back to here"

Marty gave a wicked smile and leant back in his seat, "don't sweat it Kevy, you'll be halfway across the Atlantic before they can even break down my door"


	13. Chapter 12

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 12**

A/N - Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm so so glad you're enjoying reading this, as long as you're enjoying it I'll keep writing!

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When Penelope awoke the next morning she fully expected her husband to have returned but the beautiful face of Derek Morgan was nowhere to be seen. In fact the hospital room was empty besides her and her own baby girl who was sleeping soundly in her cot. She sat back against the pillows slightly irritated, she had had a rough night as she had begun breast feeding the baby and she had been very hungry leaving Garcia getting little sleep and she wished to be comforted by her baby boy as he knew exactly how to make her feel better. She could not understand why he was not there, he would have spent the night alone at the house so why would he not have come straight to the hospital? Her large, inquisitive brain began processing all the possible explanations and finally she concluded the most plausible to be that he was bringing Danny to see her, no other reason made sense to her.

Just as she put her worries aside and closed her eyes briefly as she realised her fatigue once more she heard the door creep open. Leaving her eyes closed Penelope felt his presence near her which never failed to send shiver coursing through her body and his sweet natural scent filled her nostrils as he lay beside her placing his arm around her neck. Naturally, she cuddled up into his chest and smiled clutching his t-shirt, "hey Hot Stuff, I've missed you" she whispered.

He stroked her head and kissed her soft, blonde waves, he tried his hardest not to cry. His entire team was waiting outside the door as he delivered the worst news he could to his physically vulnerable wife, but he knew he had to despite how hard it was going to be.

"What's wrong?" Garcia asked leaving her cheek glued to his chest as her head was too heavy to lift but she could immediately tell when everything was not alright.

He took a deep breath and blinked back the tears that were forming in his eyes, "baby-" he began, "I have to tell you something, last night when I was on the phone to J.J. telling her about the baby, Lynch-" he stopped as his teeth ground in anger.

Penelope found the strength to sit up, she knew something wasn't right, her heart was pounding out of her chest, "what has Kevin done?" she whispered looking up at her husband's usually collected face crumbling.

"He took Danny" he said finally averting eye contact as he couldn't bear to see the sadness cross her face.

Garcia swallowed, her mouth was suddenly very dry, she didn't know what to do or what to say, the man who she had given herself to for four years of her life had taken her baby away from her. She couldn't bear to think how scared he must be, he wouldn't understand where he was and he wouldn't have Barry the FBI official crime fighting Bear to protect him. He would cry out for his Mommy and Daddy and they wouldn't be there to save him.

It was her job to protect him. She must fix this.

Despite being sore and weak she swung her legs out of the side of the bed. Morgan frowned at her and placed his hand around her wrist, "Penelope" he warned keeping his eyes locked on her.

She pulled her hand out of his grasp, "let me go Derek I have to save him" the tears were pouring out of her eyes and streaming across her cheeks, although she was wearing her glasses her vision was blurred. She stood, half blind, and would have started for the door had her husband not been too quick for her. Morgan had rolled across the bed and taken hold of both her forearms pulling her back onto the bed.

"Derek Morgan! You let me go" she screamed kicking and punching him in frustration and sadness, "he's my baby!" she cried as Morgan wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close, "he's my baby" she continued to sob into his t-shirt. Derek's heart broke as he heard her soft cries, he cradled her softly rocking her backwards and forwards trying to calm her but the same level of sadness and anger was searing through his body too.

Finally, once all the tears had dried up and Garcia had exhausted herself Morgan laid her back into bed, she lay against the largely plumped pillows and simply looked at him through her big brown eyes which were now various shades of red, a physical indicator of her sadness.

Morgan cupped her cheek in his hand, "baby I want you to look at me" slowly she tilted her head and allowed her eyes to lock with his, they were beautiful eyes, she followed his gaze as he stood and walked to the plastic cot in the corner and picked up their squirming bundle to say good morning to his daughter who had begun to grumble as she awoke before returning to his position on the bed. "You see her..." he looked downwards as two large brown eyes looked upwards, the very same that were also staring across the bed at him, "...she is your baby too and she needs her Mommy more than anyone right now. I will bring Danny home but you need to concentrate on bringing our little one into the world right, understand me?" he was not being cruel, that was the last thing he wanted but he needed to be direct, he needed her to hear him.

She looked at him a moment and then down at her newborn daughter, not even a day old and already she was experiencing her first family drama, Morgan was right she needed her Mommy. Penelope gave him a small smile and nodded to let him understand that she agreed, she then thought logically and knew they had to do something, "you need to invite the team here and bring my laptop, we need to act quickly if we're going to stop him"

Morgan pushed a stranded piece of blonde hair away from her face with his free hand, she looked so very different without her bright clothes, the layers of make up with her perfectly styled hair, more natural yet more vulnerable. "They're already here" Morgan explained, "and Reid has your laptop baby, we've been working on this all night we just need your expertise"

She sighed slightly as she gave a small smile, "of course you do" her witty remark unsurprisingly lacking its usual enthusiasm holding her arms out to take her child. She clutched her tightly as soon as Morgan placed her in her arms, she had failed Danny, she had vowed to protect him and she couldn't. Her baby was her comfort blanket.

Derek sat at the end of the bed and took her hand moving his thumb over her palm gingerly, "I need you to tell me what he said to you in the diner yesterday first"

Penelope frowned deep in thought, her meeting with Kevin seemed a lifetime ago, before the little girl in her arms was born, "he didn't say anything of importance mainly how he was Danny's father, showing his rage and how jealous he was of you. He said we could have been happy, the three of us" she added quietly holding her baby close to her chest.

"Did he say anything further about Sweden?"

Fear filled Garcia's eyes as her head snapped up suddenly, "you- you think he might? He wouldn't! Would he?"

"We don't know baby, we wondered if you could think of anyone who might help him leave the county undetected. If his endgame is to live out this newly created fantasy that he and Danny will live happily ever after then he will do it there" Morgan sighed, wondering how long he could convince his wife, and himself, that everything was ok but he knew that he would not stop until his son was home.

Fresh tears trickled slowly down her pale cheeks and her head shook, "there was only ever him and his mother…"

"It was his Mom that brought him back, it was her who died. We searched her house, there's nothing that might provide us with fresh leads"

Penelope felt another wave of sadness pass over her but this time not for herself, for the man causing her pain, "that's a shame" she mused quietly, "his mother was lovely, I tried to keep in touch with her after Kevin left but she had a Alzheimer's, she didn't know where he was or who I was. She never got to meet her grandson"

Morgan always admired his wife for her big heart despite feeling sympathy to the man who had kidnapped their son but he needed to push her, they were running out of time, "what about friends?"

"No he didn't have many friends-" she paused and looked up, "unless..."

"What is it?" Morgan leant forward eagerly, hoping they finally had a lead.

"Kevin, he had a best friend from college. When I told him about my hacking days he told me about... Marty was it? Yes Marty Goodwin. He did the same course as him in college but veered into hacking but apparently he is also skilled in fake identification. It's him isn't it? He's taking my baby out of the country"

Morgan shook his head, "not if I stop him first. If I bring your laptop in can you find him baby?"

She sighed and nodded, for once she wished she was not the one who knew how to find people or information, she wished she could sit quietly and worry. Though she knew if it was her finding out the information she knew it was quick and reliable, and that's what she needed to find her son.

"Invite the rest of the team in, tell them what we know. I'll look up flights to Sweden in the vicinity around Marty's house as well"

Derek gave her a quick smile and kissed her on the head, "that's my girl"

Within seconds of her husband disappearing out of the door, the entire BAU team reentered, each with a solemn look on their face.

Reid, J.J. and Blake each quickly congratulated her on the baby and took a look at her before returning their heads to the case at hand. It was unfortunate that the attention had not been on the little girl but her older brother was in danger and right now that was the priority.

Garcia began typing like a fish taking to water behind her sparkling glasses her eyes were heavy from the exhaustion of childbirth and red and swollen from crying, yet she had a job to do, and that was to find her son. The others had little time to wait before she had found out the life story of Marty Goodwin. A plan of action was being formulated as she then started the search through all the airports in the area to all the flights to Sweden to see if either of their names appeared.

"Dave I want you J.J. and Reid to go to Goodwin's house, even if he's not there, search it. If he was there making passports recently it'll be on his computer. The rest of us-" Hotch began in his usual authoritative voice.

"-an airport has a Kevin and Danny Percival on a flight to Stockholm, Percival was Kevin's mother's name, it's got to be them" Garcia interrupted quickly.

Morgan frowned, "it seems to simple. Kevin isn't stupid, he's been careful to keep us off his scent so far, why would he lead us right to him?"

Hotch nodded in agreement, "it could be a diversion to his real destination"

"But we have no way of knowing where that is until you go to Goodwin's house!" she protested "he could be long gone by then, there are over 30 different flights from different airports within the vicinity and that's in only the next two hours alone" Garcia cried the tears reappearing in her eyes.

J.J. sat beside her best friend and placed her arm around her shoulder, letting her head fall as she sobbed softly creating dark circles on her t-shirt, "Penelope's right, whether they're there or not, we have to try. We have to bring Danny home."


	14. Chapter 13

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 13**

A/N - Thank you all again for the feedback, means a lot! Please keep letting me know your opinions

* * *

The atmosphere was quiet and tense as the team sat on the jet heading south towards North Carolina. Morgan had put his headphones on to try and shut out the world and his problems for the duration of the flight, but he was not successful. As soon as his eyes were closed images were flashing into his mind: his wife's broken face as they left the hospital, his tiny little daughter who deserved the full attention of her mother and her father let alone the time spent choosing the name she would hold for the rest of her life and then there was Danny. Memories were being played back as clear as if he was sitting in his living room watching home videos on his flat screen TV: the day they brought him home from the hospital, teaching him to walk, his 1st birthday, riding his bike, scoring his first goal, his first day at school and endless hours play agents vs unsubs. Subconsciously, tears had formulated in his eyes and as a hand on his shoulder awoke him, he furiously fought them back.

"We're about to land" Hotch said as he felt all eyes boring into him, the plan from then was simple, go to the airport and wait for them to arrive while the others search Goodwin's house.

The summer sun shone brightly in their eyes as the team disembarked the jet into the two familiar black SUVs which were sat on the runway awaiting their arrival. Morgan immediately headed to the driver's door when Hotch placed a hand in front of him. He knew he was in no state to be driving and silently directed him to the backseat with J.J.

As they headed towards North Carolina busiest airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Morgan's leg bounced anxiously as he kept checking his watch. The flight was due to leave in two hours, chances were that they were already at the airport but every logical bone in his body was saying this was a diversion but he would not listen, he had to hope as they had no other leads. J.J. glanced sideways at her friend unsure of what to say to rectify the situation, she knew she still wasn't in his best books and although she knew deep down it was an unavoidable situation she couldn't help but blame herself for the kidnapping of her Godson.

Hotch hastily fought the traffic and soon they were parked up and rushing into the busy departures area filled with both professional people in smart suits preparing to venture away on business and families with large suitcases and straw hats eager to leave their hometown for a summer holiday. Morgan's eyes flitted to the overhead board which read the gate number for flight AF478 to Stockholm. With the newly gained information he sped ahead of his teammates, pushing his way through security checks and angry looking guards who he shoved his credentials in their faces before proceeding to his destination. Upon reaching the Departures lounge he heard the boarding call for the flight and his heart began to pound faster with anxiety and adrenaline, there was now only two thoughts in his mind, finding Danny safe and killing Kevin.

Hotch and J.J. jogged behind Morgan attempting to keep up, both with children of their own which they had feared for their safety before they knew how scared their friend was feeling and wished they could do more to ease his pain.

Derek wiped his hand over his head removing the beads of sweat which had formulated before pushing forward to the air stewardess who had begun to take tickets.

"Excuse me sir you're going to have to in line with everyone else-" she snarled in a high pitched time.

Exhausted and beyond caring he held up his badge, "listen, just tell me if Kevin and Danny Percival are on that plane"

Her hard eyes widened slightly before looking down at the passenger list on her computer. As Hotch and J.J. joined him they began to scour the queue, which had now begun to stir at the recent commotion, and the surrounding area for sight of them. There was none.

The stewardess shook her head, "I'm sorry they've not arrived yet"

Morgan sighed heavily completely worn out, "let me know if they do" he said before slumping into the nearest cushioned seat positioned for the convenience of passengers waiting to board their flight.

Hotch and J.J. sat beside him, they all shared the same thought but none of them knew what to do. Suddenly Hotch's phone began to vibrate.

"Hotchner" he answered in his usual professional tone before relaxing slightly when he realised the caller, "what have you got Dave?"

"_Aaron, Goodwin's gone, I suppose Kevin gave him the tip off that we'd come here. There is some suggestion that they were here, used cups that sort of thing..._"

"They're not here..." he paused and looked at Morgan whose head was now in his hands in complete despair, "...yet"

Rossi sighed through the phone, "_well did we really expect them too? Goodwin's smart, he wiped his hard drive so we couldn't see what alias they'd used and what flight they'd booked but our Garcia is smarter and she retrieved the information for us. The passports read Harold and Oliver Porter and they did book the tickets for that flight as a diversion, their real flight to Stockholm leaves Raleigh–Durham International Airport in half an hour_"

Hotch nodded slowly and stood up to talk about the matter more privately, "we'll never make it, does Garcia know about this?"

"_No, she sent us all the details, she was half asleep when we rang her. Aaron what do we do now? We could call the airline and ask them to land the plane_?"

"No this isn't an official case and we would need to go through many people higher up the food chain" he looked over at Morgan once more, he was a man in complete and utter despair, they were his family and he would not let anything happen to his family, "we can't exactly force people off this plane, you're going to need to book us tickets on the next flight to Stockholm. We're bringing Danny home"

* * *

The noise of the engine firing off masked the sound of the air stewardess giving the tedious safety regulations routine which she had repeated many times in her career and would repeat many more times before she would leave.

As the plane began to move slowly towards the runway, Danny placed both hands on the circular window and stared down at the tarmac below. Kevin had convinced him that this was part of the holiday that they were giving his Mommy and Daddy and that they would be home soon.

"When I went on a airplane last Mommy and Daddy and me went to Disneyland, I saw Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and Pluto and Donald and Daisy" he took a short intake of breath as they turned the final corner before they reached the runway, "Mommy says after the baby has come we go and see Auntie Emily in London which is really really far away"

The plane suddenly jerked forwards and he grasped hold of Kevin's arm tightly as his frivolous chatter ceased. He looked down at his son whose face was now screwed up tightly as he clung hold of his jacket as the plane began to soar upwards. He sat back slightly and began to relax, a large grin appeared on his face. He had his son, he had won.

"Don't worry Danny" he whispered softly, "everything is going to be alright"


	15. Chapter 14

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 14**

A/N - This was a spontaneous interim chapter thanks to the feedback which prompted me to bring the beautiful Emily Prentiss into the mix (which makes complete sense but it just hadn't occurred to me) so thank you so much for that! I hope you keep enjoying reading it and you don't think this chapter just sounds like waffle.

* * *

The light was leaving the office as the sun began to disappear behind the tall buildings which covered the skyline. She paced impatiently in front of her desk, her heels clicking with every step she took. It wasn't an official case, she knew she didn't have the authority to ask for the much needed man power and resources for what was seen as a personal matter. She did not care. The priority was her nephew.

The phone rang shrilly in the silence of the office. Although she had been expecting it she couldn't help but be startled by the sound.

With haste she picked up the receiver, there were few words from the caller but they were all she needed to hear. She had been cleared to have several days to give her friends the help and support they needed.

It had been far too long since Emily Prentiss had seen her BAU team, the last time she had been able to visit the U.S. was for Danny's 2nd birthday. She knew he had changed a lot since then from the frequent updates that Garcia still sent, she couldn't stand the thought of the beautiful, blond haired little boy being in any kind of trouble. Upon seeing Hotch's name on her caller ID she knew that it was not a social call. The last time she had received a call like that had been when J.J. had been kidnapped; she did not wish to dread every time she saw his name in case it meant that a member of her family was in trouble.

In the hope that her leave of absent would be approved Emily had already booked her flight to Stockholm and had her go bag under her desk, as although she didn't get as much field work as she would have liked in her new post she still kept it in case of emergencies. From what Hotch had told her Kevin and Danny were already in flight, she hoped her waiting around hadn't meant that they had missed them at the airport.

Within minutes she had changed out of her formal suit and heels into her more comfortable attire and as she left the Interpol building she was already ringing her contacts in the Stockholm Interpol. They did not fill her with much hope, there had been a bomb threat within the capital city several days before and all police units were on edge to catch the culprit, as were the country's major airports. The only ones available were the units who would need to commute from the rural areas, but she was promised that they would send them straight to the airport to catch their criminal. With or without the help of the local police Emily knew that as soon as she was reunited with her BAU team that they would find Danny and bring him home to his family.

Despite the horrendous situation upon which she had been called in to help, excitement was coursing through her body at the thought of seeing at least some of her team members again. It had been five years since she had been officially part of their team but she always continued to refer to it as _hers_. She remembered her final days at the BAU and her doubts were only heightened by the news of Garcia's pregnancy. It had been evident that something was wrong with her for weeks prior to the announcement, they had known she had broken up with Kevin but they couldn't understand her sadness as she had revealed to her girlfriends on several occasions how she didn't really love him.

Then there was Morgan.

Everyone knew it was not a matter of if but a matter of when with those two. They had thought J.J. and Will's 'secret' relationship had been bad enough but Morgan and Garcia were ridiculous. There was barely any change in their relationship, they acted like two people in love just as they always had, but within a team of profilers trying to disguise a romance was a foolish idea. The only subtle change was that Morgan suddenly became very overly protective of his best friend and stopped going out of evenings after work but instead spent more and more time with Penelope. That was enough evidence for them to deduce what was happening.

At first this made Emily feel more satisfied about leaving her team because they would be happy, but she simply could not understand why Garcia was constantly walking around with a cloud over her head. Her usual spark had disappeared, as had the constant witty remarks, they knew something was very wrong. It was not until after J.J.'s wedding that they finally confronted Morgan and he sat them down and explained the situation. Nobody knew what to do, if Garcia couldn't find Kevin there was no way in hell anyone else could. They had to watch as this burden crushed their friend, the memory was enough to make the anger sear through Emily's body upon thinking about that man. Neither she nor J.J. had ever considered him good enough for their best friend but having to see him cause her so much distress was awful.

Emily couldn't help but feel guilt-ridden as she left her friend at such a low point in her life but she knew she had the support network of their BAU family to protect and care for her. Within weeks she heard that the pain was passing and Garcia was getting back to normal, for this she was glad, and she was overjoyed when she received the invitation to the wedding of Mr and Mrs Morgan. Upon seeing her best friend on that day she could tell that she was back to her old self, the bubbly, eccentric tech genius that they loved. Emily hoped more than anything that this recent trauma hadn't caused Penelope to descend into depression again, especially now she had her new baby to look after.

As she entered the nearest black cab and requested it take her to Gatwick Airport she knew it was for Penelope more than anyone that made Emily feel so determined, Danny Morgan needed to be brought back to his parents, and if her help could make that a reality then there was question about it.

They were family.


	16. Chapter 15

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 15**

A/N - Thank you all for your wonderful feedback, I'm glad you all seem to approve of bringing Emily I'm sorry she's not very prominent in this chapter.

* * *

Morgan had always hated commercial flying, when he was younger he had had only one experience of flying when his parents took him and his sisters to the west coast for a special holiday when he was eight. He had been not particularly enjoyed the travelling experience but his Dad had been there to ensure his safety and hold his hand. This would not have been Danny's first plane journey but it would have been his longest, and that was what irked him the most. Kevin did not know his son. He didn't know his interests, what stopped him from being bored or what to do when he was upset or hurt, he would be clueless and it would be Danny who would suffer. In his bag in his overhead locker was Barry Bear, he had picked it up before they had travelled to North Carolina it would be the thing Danny missed the most besides his parents so he knew how much joy it would bring him. Beside him J.J. and Hotch dozed quietly obviously not concerned with the lack of space or peace that they were usually used to in the jet. The rest of the team had returned home to support and comfort Garcia, he knew how emotionally unstable she would be right now and he wished he could be there to hold her and make her pain go away but the only way he could do that was by bringing her son back to her safely.

The nine and a half hour journey gave Morgan time to reflect, it was scary how one thing can change your life forever. When he committed his life to Garcia five years ago he had no idea how much a baby would change his attitude and priorities. He had had to learn to change nappies, what each different cry represented and which school was the best as well as give up evenings and weekends which he used to spend going out and being able to watch his own programmes on the TV, but he wouldn't change any of it. Danny and Penelope were the best things to happen to him, he had changed for the better and he could not wait to do it all again with his little girl and any other children that may follow in the future.

However, it wasn't long until his mind drifted to the last time he had spoken to his wife before they had left the country. He had tried to block it out but the words would not stop spinning around in his head.

_He felt the harsh vibrations of his phone within his pocket, he had already missed two of her calls he could not ignore a third. The plane would be boarding shortly, at least that gave him an excuse if the conversation turned the way he feared it would and it needed to be swiftly terminated. He stood up from the waiting area raising the heads of his colleagues but even without words they knew the news he was about to deliver._

"_Derek!" the cry of Penelope Garcia came loudly through the phone as soon as he pressed the green answer button, "where is he? Where's my baby? Please put him on the phone, I need to know he's ok"_

_Morgan held his head in his free hand, "baby-" he began quietly but he was fighting a losing battle._

"_-The baby's been restless today but she'll be happy as soon as her Daddy and big brother come home, we should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow won't that be exciting-" she babbled incessantly to ensure Morgan would not confirm her fears._

"_-Penelope!" he snapped, he instantly felt horrible. They never argued and he'd never shouted at her before, the stress of the whole situation was becoming too much; their relationship had always been a rock, he hoped more than anything that this wouldn't break them. "It was a diversion, they've gone, but me, Hotch and J.J. will be on the next plane after them" he continued quietly._

_There was silence._

_Derek listened desperately, he would prefer her to lash out rather than silence. "Baby Girl did you hear me?" he asked softly after some time had passed._

"_Yes" she replied coolly, he could hear the muffled grumbles of their daughter in the background, "it was your job to bring him back Derek, I trusted you. I trusted you with the safety of my little boy, I wanted to go but you wouldn't let me and now he is halfway around the world!" she cried, he was shocked. He had heard her annoyed before, even uncharacteristically angry but never so hurtful, not his Penelope. She paused, "don't even bother getting on that plane because obviously I have to save my son" and the line went dead._

Morgan sat back against the airplane seat and looked out of the window as he watched the fluffy white puffs of cloud moved past slowly. He had known she was just understandably angry and she hadn't meant it but he couldn't remove her words. They had always referred to Danny as their son, even when he was born, even though it was obvious that he wasn't she had never wanted to exclude him even though she had every right to. Now it was different, when he was in danger he was hers and no-one else's. Derek knew he loved that little boy just as much but he understood, you can't take that bond and protective instinct away from a mother and her child.

* * *

After the tedious journey the FBI agents trudged out of the Arrivals gate at the airport, they had half hoped the police to have caught Kevin and Danny as they had exited their flight and would be waiting for them. This was not the case.

To the surprise of both J.J. and Morgan they caught sight of the last person they had expected to be stood waiting for them at Stockholm airport. The dark haired woman smiled and waved at them as they walked towards her.

"Emily!" J.J. cried rushing to hug her before looking between her and their Unit Chief, she had not expected him to be keeping things from them.

Hotch gave a half smile, "It's good to see you" he said genuinely, he glanced at his team members, "I rang Emily before we left North Carolina to inform her of the situation, she didn't know if she could get away from work and I didn't want to get your hopes up in case she couldn't"

Morgan nodded slowly, it was great to see his ex-colleague but they needed to focus. Emily would be a vital asset to helping find Danny but now they were on foreign soil with a police force who were disinterested in helping. He didn't know what their plan of action would be.

"I've been here several hours, the police unit Interpol assigned to help us arrived just after Kevin's flight landed so unfortunately they missed them. However, they have been given a spare office and I left them running through security footage as well as searching Visa and employment records to find his home address in Stockholm. They have been very accommodating and understanding and said they would do everything they could to help us." Emily explained as they began to walk out of the airport.

The team then headed straight to the Stockholm police headquarters whereby the assigned unit had been placed in order to progress in their investigation and finally stop beginning one step behind Lynch as they had been since he kidnapped Danny.

As they began to enter the official foreign building J.J. felt Morgan take her arm and hold her back. She feared he was going to start another argument and she did not feel emotionally prepared. She had left her family and her best friend during the time when she needs her the most to accompany him in bringing her Godson home because of the overwhelming guilt which was weighing her down.

"J.J. I want to apologise" Morgan began quietly, "I have been self-centred and cruel towards everyone but especially to you. Of course it wasn't your fault Danny was taken, I wanted to take my anger out on someone and that wasn't fair so I'm sorry that I blamed you"

She smiled and took his hand squeezing it gently, "it's ok, we're all feeling it, you're not alone Morgan. The important thing is bringing Danny home"

He mirrored her smile and nodded as they continued into the building to join Hotch and Prentiss who had already completed introductions and established a mutual understanding of the case whilst they had been absent.

"We have identified the man you are looking for with the boy coming out of the airport from our security cameras" a man named Jakob Einarsson who was heading the investigation said in perfect English with a rich Scandinavian accent. He turned his computer monitor to show a black and white image of slightly blurred figures walking in and out the automatic doors of the airport that they themselves had walked through no more than an hour earlier. Amongst the figures was an average, insignificant man holding the hand of a little boy who innocently walked beside him.

Morgan nodded as he felt his chest tightening with anger at seeing his son with that man, "that's them"

The police chief shuffled through his paperwork before clearing his throat, "the man identified himself as Kevin Percival, he works as a basic computer hacker for the government and we have his address here"

"Let's go then, thank you very much for your assistance" Hotch said sincerely.

Einarsson shook his head, "no trouble at all, please let us accompany you there is little point you getting lost and we can offer our services, we do not want a kidnapper in our city"

* * *

Danny had fallen asleep on Kevin's lap as they sat in the backseat of the taxi heading towards his flat. His life in Sweden seemed an alternative reality since returning home as they crept through the inner city towards the dreary, miserable grey buildings of what some people may regard as the unsafe area of town.

Kevin had had no prior connection to Sweden before his spontaneous move though he had always envied the European countryside lifestyle. In America if you wanted a farm you would be living in the dustbowl of Arizona or living on a mountain like the Waltons. No he wished for the seemingly tranquil and carefree life of owning your own land which was green all around, there would be sheep and maybe cows but you would be completely isolated from the outside world. He had pitched this idea to Penelope several times, she was not keen at all. In a way she was right, he needed computers, they were what he understood, and they were what he was good at, what he could be proud of.

He sighed as his own fantasy had been shattered, despite his original farming dream he now wished more than anything he was driving towards the idyllic suburban homes with perfectly kept gardens, a dog running around and his beautiful girlfriend Louisa, another figment of his imagination. Danny could have been so happy there, as would he. He was determined to make that a reality though, he would move out of the flat as soon as was possible. He had the generous sum money that was left to him in his mother's will which would tide him over for the time being until he was able to sell her house. Kevin Lynch would finally have his dream.

The taxi driver grunted as they pulled up outside the familiar bland block of flats. Quickly paying him the money Kevin pulled Danny out of the car still half asleep.

"Where are we?" he yawned as his father hastily pulled him by the hand towards the door, cautious of some of the dangerous people who lived in his neighbourhood who he did not want Danny affiliated with.

"Shh a second please" his voice and hands shaking as he struggled to find the correct key. He turned to see a large, bald man covered in tattoos beginning to walk towards him. Kevin's heart pounded out of his chest as he finally pushed the door open, he hastily moved Danny and their luggage across the threshold before closing the door firmly. Still on edge Kevin grabbed Danny in one hand and the bags in another and quickly made their way up the three flights of stairs to his apartment.

"This your house Mr Lynch?" Danny asked walking into the centre of the dirty living room once they were safe within the vicinity of the flat. The inside was as absent of life as the outside, the carpet was hard and grey as was the peeling wallpaper and the kitchen consisted of one cupboard, a fridge and a microwave. The couch had been converted into a bed indicating there was only the one room aside from the bathroom which could barely fit one person in it. Kevin was still leaning against the door with his eyes closed trying to regain a steady rhythm to his heart when Danny approached him again, "Mr Lynch? Can I ring Mommy and Daddy please?"

When his eyes flickered open they changed from a look of fear to a look of sheer anger, he took Danny firmly by the shoulders and shook him slightly, "you are not to ring them do you understand me? We are happy here, we don't need them!"

Danny's face completely crumbled and two large tears fell from his eyes and rolled slowly down his face before he ran away into the equally dirty bathroom and continued to cry for his Mommy. Kevin placed his head in his hands, what had he done?

He needed to make it up to him and apologise but he had a lifetime to make up for lost time, right now he was going to establish a home for his son, they would be happy.


	17. Chapter 16

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 16**

A/N - Thank you so much for your reviews, favourites and follows! Yeah so veering from the main storyline a little here, hope you don't mind, it's mainly so I can give Garcia a bit of action cause she's my fave and she deserves more attention in this story. I hope everyone enjoys a little sub-plot!

* * *

Garcia sighed as she packed away the little possessions that she had in the hospital room which had been her home for the last two days. In fact her bags were mostly full of many 'congratulations' and 'it's a girl' cards full of well wishes for her and her baby. It felt wrong that she was leaving the hospital without her husband, they should be leaving together hand in hand with their baby in the car seat just as they did after Danny was born. Of course that wasn't possible. It also didn't feel right that they were leaving without naming their little girl, they had had several names that they had batted around during her pregnancy but nothing was finalised, they were supposed to decide the day before. Of course that wasn't possible either.

Her irrational thinking of the previous day had passed. She had been ready to jump on the next plane to Sweden by the time the rest of the team had returned from North Carolina and demanded that they take her to the airport. It was only after Rossi sat her down and talked some sense and logic into her that she realised it would be selfish and pointless. She had her baby to consider, and Danny's Daddy was coming to get him.

Young Spencer Reid was stood near the door holding her little one, he was lost in an exclusive world whereby he was reciting an unfamiliar text in a sing-song tone whilst making very animated faces. She appeared to enjoy it, and it made Garcia smile. She had not smiled for two days.

Rossi and Blake had been called to the BAU to explain to Cruz why half the team had disappeared halfway across the world without consultation. They apologised and Rossi had promised that they would both be over in the evening and he would make his famous spaghetti.

Once they were packed up Penelope placed her daughter into her car seat and politely thanked the nurses and the midwives for all their assistance before leaving the hospital. Reid had offered to drive her home so she was not alone, she was grateful for this. She missed her husband and she missed her son.

Garcia realised she must've dozed off during the car journey home as when she awoke they were pulling up outside her house.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed running her hand through her hair in exasperation, "I just realised we don't have anything in, no food, no drink, we were going to go the supermarket after we'd met with Kevin"

"It's fine, I'll go get you some things" he looked to the back to see the little girl had fallen asleep in her car seat, "you just go and take this little one inside and lie down yourself, don't worry"

Garcia smiled gratefully and placed her hand on top of his, "thank you boy genius" she then took out her house key before taking her baby and heading towards the front door. She turned and waved as Reid drove out of the road then balanced the car seat on her right arm as, being left-handed, she turned the key with her left hand.

Stepping over the threshold she realised this was the first time her baby girl would be entering her home. The world was all so scary and new to her.

Looking around her large living room Penelope felt so very alone, the floor was wooden and each step she took echoed loudly. She missed her husband and felt truly guilt-ridden over the way she had spoken to him, it wasn't his fault that Kevin was going through some sort of breakdown and had kidnapped her son. Kevin was smart, she shouldn't have underestimated him; it was her fault as much as his. She held her hand to her mouth as she stifled a yawn, Reid was right she needed to lie down, if not to rest then to forget her worries and her fear of being in the house alone with her newborn child.

She tentatively walked up the stairs and headed straight for her bedroom, the nursery held too many heart aching memories for her at the moment, she could not bear to see the empty photo frame staring back at her where the photo of her family should go knowing most of her family was not with her. She also did not like the idea of leaving her baby alone while she slept, she had heard too many stories of cot deaths and babies who died by being strangling by blinds' cords, for now at least she would stay sleeping in her car seat with her Mommy. The nursery was also situated at the end of the hall, that involved passing Danny's room and thinking of her son not being with her, not sleeping in his bed stabbed her right in the heart.

So Garcia placed her daughter on the floor beside her side of the bed and she lay down alone and closed her eyes.

She could not have been asleep more than five minutes when her eyes snapped open. She was in semi-darkness as she had closed the curtains with taking her nap but she felt something was wrong.

Then she heard it.

A sound that made her heart begin to bang out of her chest at a hundred miles an hour. The squeak of the step third from the landing. It had been a sound that was familiar as it used to get Danny caught when he used to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night. It would have been natural to assume it was Reid back from the store. But it wasn't. After five years Garcia had been able to differentiate between walking on the step quickly as if you were just coming up the stairs and when you stepped on it slowly as if you didn't want to be detected.

There was someone in her house.

She shot a quick glance at her daughter who was still sound asleep, she was thankful for this. Silently she stretched out her arm beside her and slipped it under Morgan's pillow. She breathed a sigh of relief, it was there. His emergency gun. Although the she disagreed completely with guns he had taught her how to use it for occasions such as this.

She could see her phone in her peripheral vision, she needed to inform Rossi, in case the worst happened, he needed to know. She had slipped the phone onto the bed and typed quickly, the same text to Rossi, Blake and Reid:

_'Think there's someone in the house. HELP.'_

She strained her ears for any sound at all, there were the silent sounds of footsteps. He was on the landing.

With the gun still under the pillow she slid the top of the handgun backwards, it was ready to fire.

Her mind was running wild. How much more could she deal with? Why was this happening to her? Who was in her house?

She was on the side furthest away from the door meaning that her baby was protected by her. The door crept open slowly. Her heart was pulsing throughout her entire body. The figure took a step inwards. She saw him and she knew him.

"You" she breathed sitting up, she pulled the gun under her pillow.

The man stood in her bedroom doorway was large and not that clever, he reminded her of Lenny from 'Of Mice and Men', the gentle giant. He was one of the men she had tricked in the conference hostage, he was the one she later found out who had ran and gotten away.

He took a step into the room, her eyes flickered to the outline of the gun in his hand, "you took our money from us, I been watching you, we wan' it back" he spoke slowly with a deep southern accent, he wore all back with a black woollen hat covering his bald head despite the summer heat. This was not his plan, these were the orders he was following from his friends in prison, 'our money' not his.

Penelope stood bravely keeping her hand under the pillow, she did not like these situations, she felt as if she was back in Bill Roger's living room persuading him to let Monica go despite learning it was him who had made her life a misery by taking Hope and ultimately causing her death. There was a reason she was a technical analyst and not a Supervisory Special Agent.

"Listen..." she paused, she could not remember his name, "...you will get your money but let's just sit down and talk about this yeah?" she glanced down at the gun again, "no one needs to get hurt"

He nodded firmly, "they do" he elongated the word 'do', "Bobby says I gots to make you pay, you made me on ma own, we coulda been happy Bobby, Paul and me" he shook his gun at her, "but you ruined that!"

She half expected him to say they were going to get a little house and he was 'gonna the tend the rabbits', but he didn't he just kept staring at her. It was funny the things the brain remembers under great stress, she had not read the American classic for almost 20 years yet the smallest details were replaying through her head as vividly as if she'd read it that morning. Things didn't turn out great for poor Lenny, but they weren't for woman he killed either. She still couldn't remember his name.

"You have to listen to me" Penelope kept her voice firm although inside she was quaking, she thought her legs were going to give way, "my baby is sleeping down here next to me, she is only two days old, I need to look after her so why don't you just go home and we can forget all about this"

He stood as he processed his words, she thought she had gotten through to him but he shook his head so exaggerated that his cheeks touched his shoulders, "I gotta do what Bobby said or he won't speak to me no more" he raised his gun as Penelope took her own from under the pillow and held it straight ahead of her just as Derek had shown her. Her hands were shaking, she had never hurt anyone and she didn't want to start now. Tears rolled down her cheeks, she wished he was here, he wanted him to burst through the door and tackle this man to the floor, but he couldn't, he was already halfway around the world, rescuing her son. She had to do this herself. She was strong enough, she hoped.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, tears were also falling.

Garcia squeezed her eyes tightly shut and there was a loud crack.

The world stopped. She hadn't pulled the trigger. The sounds of her baby's cries echoed through the house.


	18. Chapter 17

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 17  
**

A/N - Thank you so much for your reviews, favourites and follows. I'm so glad that you think that this bit fits and you liked it!

* * *

It should have felt like last time. The world slowing down but at the same time it also sped up. The bullet penetrating her body, ripping through skin and organs, one tiny piece of metal causing so much damage. Last time it was shock that had overcome her as she watched her attacker, this had caused her to react slowly. This time she wanted to react quickly but she couldn't. She felt no pain.

Penelope slowly opened her eyes the gun still posed in her outstretched arms. She hadn't been hit. She watched the intruder fall forwards and hit the ground with great force, he never moved again. Stood behind him was Spencer Reid in the same position as herself holding his gun, the difference was he had fired and saved her life. Garcia couldn't stop the tears from falling in shock at the whole situation, she brought her hand to her mouth. Reid, although at times he could be socially awkward, knew exactly what to do. He simply walked around the body on the floor and placed his arms around her, all she wanted was someone there. It wasn't even the intruder that was so traumatic for her, it was staring into the barrel of a gun once more and being unable to fire to defend herself and her baby.

The sounds of her very awake little girl then hit her ears, the gunshot must have woken her, she was crying just like her mother. Garcia wiped away her tears and picked up her baby and held her tightly, she was her comfort, her baby made her feel instantly better. She began to rock her gently in her arms but the crying did not cease, her tiny face was screwed up tightly and was getting increasingly more frustrated. In spite of the situation she smiled sadly; she wished that she could simply cry, that was all she wanted to do at the present moment but she had responsibilities, she had to be strong for her baby.

"I need to get her out of here" Garcia whispered her gaze falling onto the body lying on her bedroom floor causing her to clutch her baby closer to her chest. Reid nodded and led her out of the room, the movement did not make the little girl any happier, now stood on the landing her wails echoed through the house.

"She must be hungry" she told Reid quietly, giving him the hint that he needed to leave the room. Although she wasn't a shy person but having her colleague and friend of thirteen years there while she breastfed may be slightly awkward, more so on his part.

He didn't understand, he just smiled and nodded at her. She wanted to roll her eyes but she didn't even have the energy for such a small movement, she was going to have to be more direct, "Reid, my all around genius hero, I need to breastfeed her. How about you make us some coffee, I think we need it and I'll be down when I'm done"

That did it. The realisation hit him and his eyes widened marginally, "oh right yeah ok, I'll just go downstairs then, I'll call the police, let them know what happened. Then I'll call Rossi and Blake, make sure they're coming" he stammered as he began to descend down the stairs.

Penelope couldn't help but smile as he left, Reid, her knight in shining armour, who'd have thought? The kid of the team who just years ago couldn't be trusted to carry a gun and kept himself to his books was now turning into a pretty good shot, not that he could have missed as he was stood directly behind the unsub. Nevertheless he had saved her life and, at risk of sounding like a green alien from Toy Story, she was very grateful.

Despite her previous worries she carried her daughter to the nursery so she did not have to be in the presence of a corpse any longer. As she sat in the wooden rocking chair she positioned her daughter so she could feed happily her mind drifted to Derek, she wished more than anything he was here, he would know exactly how to comfort her and make everything better. She couldn't tell him about this encounter, not until he was home at least. If he knew his mind would not be focused on finding Danny and that's what she needed, for her boys to come home. It had been two days since she had last seen her son, which was the longest she had gone without contact since he had been born, she remembered when it was him on her chest. She felt as though part of her was missing, she needed him. Two large tears fell slowly down her cheeks and landed softly on her daughter's back but she did not stir, she was glad, this child had experienced more in the two days she had been alive than most people experience in their lives.

When she returned downstairs still holding her daughter in her arms her house was full. All Garcia wished to do was fall asleep but she had to retell the story of what happened first to the police officer then to Rossi and Blake and also acting officer originally on the hostage case in New York. Rossi could see her getting wearier and wearier as she sat on the couch sipping her coffee with her baby wriggled across her lap. Her eyelids were drooping every couple of minutes but she shook herself awake, she knew it was all routine and it was all important but she was physically and emotionally exhausted. He began trying to hurry up their investigation, it was a rather straight forward case, and there was no reason why they couldn't finish their work back at the station. The medical examiner finally gave the nod and the body bag was carried out of her house. Garcia didn't see this, her she finally lost the battle with her body and she had drifted to sleep on the couch.

She was awoken some hours later by the mouthwatering smell of Rossi's spaghetti filling her nostrils. Her eyes flickered open to see that all the people who had been occupying her house had vanished, only three remained and they were talking softly in her kitchen. Her initial panic was that she had fallen asleep with her daughter in her arms, with fear consuming her she looked around her immediate vicinity frantically. She wasn't there, she hadn't dropped her. Her heart began to regain a steady rhythm as she stood wearily, she hated this constant anxiety which she was carrying around with her but after the events of the last few days she could not help it. She touched her head gingerly, it was still hurting and she was still in shock after the day's events but she had to keep going. She smoothed out the bright yellow pencil skirt she had been wearing and went to join her friends in the kitchen.

"Hey kitten" Rossi chirped placing his arm around her and kissing the top of her head, "how're you feeling?"

She gave a broad, fake, grin as she sat beside him, "I am absolutely fine" she lied her voice still groggy with sleep, "let's all stop fussing, we need to eat this wonderful food and celebrate the hero of the hour"

Reid blushed and looked down at the floor embarrassed at all the attention he was receiving. The others looked concernedly at her, being profilers they could see right through her act but they didn't press the issue.

"The baby's fine, she's upstairs sound asleep" Blake informed her as they sat at the dining room table. Rossi was clearly in his element serving out the spaghetti which was cooked to perfection topped with his own secret family recipe sauce.

The mundane conversation between friends and the calm atmosphere juxtaposed the feelings of each of the FBI agents. They couldn't do anything to help the rest of their team as they were halfway around the world but they had done everything they could for their friend here. This small sense of normality was exactly what everyone needed to take their minds off their current problems.


	19. Chapter 18

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 18**

A/N - Thank you so much for your continued support, it means so much! So back to the story again!

* * *

Morgan, Prentiss and J.J. sat in the back of the police car whilst Einarsson was chatting happily to Hotch as he drove along the foreign roads towards Kevin's flat. Morgan was not hopeful, the man had several hours on them and could be long gone by now. He glanced out of the window at the foreign landscape, he wished he had time to appreciate this different culture, his only European experience being his trip to London with Penelope when Emily had first moved. They had always planned to spend a summer travelling around when Danny was older so he could enjoy it more.

Morgan watched the grey, dull urban scenery of the capital city pass him by, as they drove further into the shadier area of town he knew that the tale Kevin had spun to them in the diner had been a lie. This became further evident as they entered his flat, it was small, bland and smelt like cat wee. Morgan thought he almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"No sign of them" Einarsson announced as he entered behind them, "and his car is still there"

Hotch walked further into the centre of the room, creating a working profile of the scene and of Kevin as he surveyed every aspect of the area, "he could have stolen another car or walked to a secondary location"

Morgan followed his movements and continued to look around the flat, he reached the bathroom it looked as grotty as everywhere else but something stood out to him. There was a piece of toilet roll folded into an uneven envelope shape, to anyone else it would seem meaningless but to him it meant everything. He picked up the tissue and walked out, any sliver of sympathy he had for that man had disappeared, he was going to murder him with his bare hands.

J.J. studied his change in behaviour and could tell his anger was beginning to mount, "what's wrong?" she asked.

"He made Danny cry" he spat angrily.

She frowned even the best profilers couldn't detect events like that from a scene, "how do you know?"

He held up the toilet paper, "this!" he exclamation caught the other people in the room's attention, "when I was three maybe four my earliest memory is of me falling out of the treehouse my Dad had built for us, I luckily had only sprained my wrist but it was one of the worst pains I'd felt and I started crying and felt I couldn't stop. My father knelt down in front of me and took me by the shoulders and said 'boy it's ok to cry, don't you ever be ashamed of crying but when you're done crying and you feel better you put those tears away, you fold up that tissue you been crying into and you leave it and you'll be leaving that thing that upset you behind too'. That silly piece of advice stuck with me ever since, it helped me a lot growing up and I taught it to Danny, that's how I know he's been crying"

J.J. placed her hand on his shoulder, she could not imagine what her friend was going through, thinking Izzi had gotten to Henry was bad enough but having your child taken from you, it would be unbearable.

Morgan slumped into the dirty two-seater couch starting intently on the piece of toilet paper before scrunching in his hands as he gritted his teeth angrily.

"Look at this" the policeman stated holding a newspaper which had been lying on the dining room table under an old jacket.

Emily took it from Einarsson and opened out the page that Kevin had last been looking at. House adverts. She peered closer and saw that one house had pencil markings beside it, it was a time. "He's going to a house viewing at one o'clock" Emily revealed handing the paper to Hotch before folding her arms across her chest.

Einarsson nodded looked at the ad over the Unit Chief's shoulder, "I know this place, it is about an hour away by car. It is in the... what is the English phrase? Centre of nowhere?"

Morgan scoffed, "the middle of nowhere? Figures." Just another leg of their wild goose chase which Kevin was leading them on but he knew this was the end. This was Kevin's dream house, what he had always wanted and now the money from his Mother's death was giving him the opportunity. If he wasn't so angry Derek thought he may even feel sorry for him, but all he was focused on was bringing his son back.

* * *

Naivety filled Kevin's head as he walked around the supermarket collecting provisions for him and Danny, despite the little boy still upset by his earlier outburst the future was now looking bright and happy. No more loneliness, no more BAU and certainly no more Derek Morgan. As soon as his mother's estate money came through they made move out of the dingy flat and out of the city to an idyllic, peaceful area of his dreams which they would be visiting that very afternoon. He even whistled.

Danny walked ahead of him and the trolley, it was a small store only useful for buying the necessities but behind the one counter was a small TV screen for the employee on duty to watch when the shop was empty. He watched the screen happily as he waited for Kevin to catch up but he was soon shocked by watch he saw. He immediately ran back down the aisle and began tugging on his trousers, "Mr Lynch! Mr Lynch!" he cried.

Kevin peered down at him beneath his glasses, "what is it Danny?"

"We're on the TV!" he exclaimed.

Kevin smiled at him and his innocence, he assumed he must have been watching the CCTV screens and he continued his shopping but when he turned the corner and glimpsed at the TV himself his heart dropped. The news headline read: 'Man steals his son and takes him to Sweden' and there was his photo from the FBI database and beside it was a recent photo of his son smiling up at the camera wearing his slightly too big soccer uniform.

Kevin immediately began to panic, he took Danny by the hand, left his shopping and swiftly exited the building. They crossed the street to the beautiful city park, Kevin used to sit there and contemplate his life during his lunch break most days when it was warm, he knew now those days were over. He sat on a wooden bench and sat Danny beside him and looking carefully at the little boy tapping his hand nervously on his leg.

Danny looked up at his Father and squinted as the sun shone behind his head, "everything ok Mr Lynch?" he asked concernedly.

The tapping on his leg continued as he looked down at him beneath his thick glasses, "what? Oh yes… everything's going to be fine Danny, don't worry"

He looked around frantically, he knew he was a criminal in the United States but he didn't realise that his crimes would follow him halfway across the world. He thought he was safe. The only way he could ensure his safety was to buy that house, his dream house. It was miles away from anywhere and anyone, no-one would find them, they would be alone and they would finally be happy...

...he hoped.


	20. Chapter 19

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 19**

A/N - Thank you again for all your feedback, I finally reached and surpassed 100 reviews, that is madness! Thank you all so much! This was going to be one really long chapter but I thought two shorter ones adds to the suspense a little bit! Enjoy!

* * *

12.55pm.

After the panic in the store Kevin had swiftly ordered a taxi and began the hour long drive to his dream house. At first the taxi driver had attempted some sort of conversation but once he realised he could not speak Swedish he continued to stay silent for the rest of the journey.

Kevin had no idea what he would do after going to the house viewing. The police would have sought out his flat and they knew his name and face, but he couldn't concern himself with that at the present time. His goal was to see his house, have a little piece of his dream work for him, then he would concern himself with the technicalities later on.

He looked beside him to see Danny dozing again, the time difference had really taken its toll on the little boy which was just another thing to add to his confusion. He wished it didn't have to be like this, but it did. One day he'd be able to explain to his son why he did it, perhaps once it was clear in his own mind as well, but until then he would just have to look after him the best way he could.

Soon, the taxi emerged from the woods they had been driving through for most of the journey to reveal a large white farmhouse sitting on its own completely secluded by the surrounding trees. It was perfect. Upon nearing the property Kevin saw the animals roaming freely in the accompanied land. Sheep, cows, horses, he could not believe what he was seeing. The house even had bright red shutters over the window and an outbuilding to tend to the land and the animals, it was idyllic. It was the place he wished he could have shared with Penelope.

He noticed that there was another car sat on large gravel drive in front of the house, the realtor was already standing in the sun clutching her clipboard dressed in a black pencil skirt, white blouse and bright red heels that were not designed for the terrain she was stood on.

Once the taxi came to a stop Kevin paid the money before shaking the little boy awake gently, "come on Danny, we're at the house now, isn't this exciting?" he smiled but he couldn't help the feeling in the pit of his stomach, a feeling of dread.

"Mr Lynch" the woman's squeaky voice greeted him with a large fake smile plastered on her overly painted face, her bright red lips parting to reveal sparkling white teeth. She pushed her blonde hair out of her face and stuck her hand out, "I am Viola Vinter and I will be showing you around your house today"

Kevin nodded and took Danny's hand as Viola placed the key into the lock, this was it, he was finally getting to see the house he had always wanted. She pushed the door open to reveal a large open plan entrance hall with winding stairs just ahead of him leading to the first floor. Kevin took a step back in awe as Danny walked in slowly, still groggy and grumpy from sleep, he didn't want to look at a house, he wanted to go home. In protest and exhaustion Danny wandered up the stairs unnoticed as his father was too preoccupied with the smallest details of the first part of his house.

"This is the entrance hall" Viola stated, "it is very nice, yes?" her pacing caused her heels to echo noisily around the room.

"Yes" Kevin breathed still in shock, "very nice"

Viola nodded, "I will leave you to look around, I will meet you in the kitchen but do not go up the stairs, the workmen are replacing the flooring so it is not safe" and she walked out of the room, her part had been played.

In all honesty Kevin couldn't care if the woman was there or not, this was about him, for once in his life it was about him and nobody would take that away from him.

The door then crept open.

Kevin glanced out of the large, windows which looked out into the countryside and the wilderness, his back was to the door, "Viola, does the sun shine through these windows in the morning or the evening?" he asked.

"You'll be lucky if the sun shines for you at all when we let Morgan in here"

Kevin whipped around to see the figures of Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau and Aaron Hotchner stood in the doorway. This couldn't be happening, they weren't supposed to be in his house, in his dream.

"No… I-" he began but he couldn't find the words.

Hotch stepped forward, "it's over Kevin, you know this is wrong, just give us Danny back"

"He's fine!" he snapped angrily, he had never spoken to his old senior agent in such a tone before, "you have no right to him. He is my son!"

"He is Penelope's son too" J.J. almost cried, she was trying to keep emotion out of the situation but it was proving very difficult.

Kevin's scowl crumpled, he had tried so hard not to think of the girl he once loved, still loved, and how she must be feeling because of what he had done but her face was in her head and he couldn't get rid of it. "I deserve to be happy" he mumbled his gaze now at the floor.

J.J. gave her colleagues a side glance before taking a step forwards, "you do, but not like this, not by hurting Penelope and Derek-"

"-No!" the anger which seared through Kevin's body at the sound of his name caused him to cry out so loud that J.J. was startled back in line with her teammates. "I will not have that pompous, vain, playboy spending another minute with my son! He is not good for him, why can't any of you see that?" he yelled.

"Kevin where is Danny?" Hotch asked firmly, he feared if they wasted anymore time Kevin and Morgan would eventually meet and the consequences would be disastrous.

He frowned, "what are you talking about? He is right-" Kevin looked around wildly, his son wasn't there. His glance then moved upwards, "oh no" he rushed up the wooden stairs, "Danny!"

Alarm flashed into the FBI agents eyes as they followed their unsub up the stairs, but it was fear that struck their hearts as they saw the little boy sat clutching his knees on a small piece of floorboard on the other side of the room. It was became clear that he had walked along a beam only big enough for four year old's feet and then became trapped in the small amount of space and was too scared to move.

The agents pushed the whimpering man aside as they called out to their nephew, "Danny, it's Auntie Jayje honey, look up at me please sweetheart, Uncle Aaron and Auntie Emily are here too"

He raised his small head slowly allowing his blond curls to fall in front of his tear-stained face, "Auntie Jayje?" he repeated squinting at the figures at the other side of the room, "where's Daddy? I want Daddy" his cries broke the hearts of everyone in the room.

Hotch turned to Emily, "go and get Morgan now"

Emily looked at Kevin who had attempted to get closer to the little boy but was stuck along the beam himself, she rolled her eyes, "what about him?"

"Morgan won't do anything else until Danny is safe, and he's the only one that Danny will trust"

J.J. continued to speak words of comfort to her Godson as Emily returned seconds later and close on her tail was the figure of an elated but terrified Derek Morgan.

Morgan lifted his eyes forward and there he was. His beautiful, funny, clever son, his heart simply burst. He wished he could embrace him, hug him tighter than he had ever hugged him before and not let go. But he couldn't. He still had a job to do, as an agent and as a father.

His son was in danger and he had to save him.


	21. Chapter 20

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 20**

A/N - Thank you again for all your support! Finally the chapter we've all been waiting for, enjoy!

* * *

Everyone else began to back down the stairs fearing for the stability of the temporary floorboard they were stood on as Morgan knelt down towards his son, completely ignoring the man beside him, "Danny? Look who's here to see you?" he said calmly despite all the conflicting emotions which were running through his body.

The little boy looked up again and his face lit up, "Daddy!" he squealed and then his eyes fell on the object in his stepfather's hands, "Barry!"

"Now Danny you need to listen to me very carefully, can you do that?" the little boy nodded, "good boy, I don't want you to move at all, imagine we're playing musical statues just sit really really still until I tell you what to do ok?"

Danny nodded his head sharply to indicate he understood.

Morgan's attention finally fell onto Kevin, the anger that had been building began to boil in the pit of his stomach as his eyes lay on him, but he knew now wasn't the time. He continued his gaze around and saw a large plank of wood, perfect to get Danny safely back onto the other side. He lifted the plank and attempted to balance it onto the piece of floorboard Danny was sat on but it was too short. He let out a cry of anger and frustration.

"I can balance it from here" a small voice from his side came.

Morgan whipped round to the pathetic man beside him. He knew it made sense but he was still reluctant after everything this man had done to his family. He took a deep breath and lifted the plank once more placing the opposite end into his hands, never would either of them thought they would be working together to save their son. Despite not having the strength of the FBI agent Kevin managed to gain control of the piece of wood and place it carefully beside where Danny sat, after moving backwards along the beam he put his end of the plank in front of him before giving a nod to Morgan.

"Ok Danny I want you to stand up really carefully, that's it, now step onto the plank of wood that Mr Lynch just put down, just like we were playing pirates" Morgan foolishly took a look beneath him, his biggest fear was that Danny would fall or the plank would break or fall. His colleagues had had the foresight to solve this problem though, on the ground they stood with the mattresses and pillows from the beds in the house in case the worst happened, Danny would be safe.

Danny also looked down and fear filled his eyes, "Daddy I'm scared"

Tears filled Morgan's eyes but he had to be brave for his son, "it's ok to be scared Danny but we have to be brave too" he looked down at the bear in his hands and gave a small smile, "do you want to practice your catching little man?" he asked, "Barry is going to help you be brave cause he is the FBI official crime fighting Bear and he can always make you feel better can't he?"

The little boy gave a small nod before holding his hands out in front of him.

"Ok, Barry is going to practice his flying, are you ready?" Danny nodded, "ok ready, steady, fly Barry!" Morgan released the stuffed toy from his hands and watched in anticipation as it flew through the air straight into the Danny's little arms.

Danny's face lit up and he hugged his toy closely to his chest, "ok Barry, we need to get across the plank" he whispered to his bear, he looked at him expectantly, "if you think we can do it, then we can" he looked up at his Daddy before stepping onto the plank with his arms still tightly around his bear. He then kept his eyes fixated on Kevin who was straight in front of him as he took his first steps, the plank did not falter under his weight.

"Come on Danny just keep looking straight at me and put one foot in front of the other, you're doing great, well done!" Kevin called with a reassuring smile.

Morgan frowned, as much as the man infuriated him he was handling the situation with Danny well, this just conflicted this opinions about him further.

The little boy was over halfway there, Kevin had his arms open ready to snatch him up and take him to safety. Danny saw he could make it, he took one last big step and fell straight into Kevin's arms, "I did it!" he cried happily as Kevin moved back along the beam placing Danny onto the security of the floorboard.

"Daddy!" Danny shouted as they finally met, Morgan pulled him into the tightest embrace as tears filled his eyes. He held him in his arms holding his head onto his shoulders, he breathed deeply and his sweet distinctive smell filled his nostrils, "I'm here little man and I'm not going anywhere ever again"

Beneath them Einarsson began to clap with tears in his eyes, with this being his first real case he was so glad that it had a happy ending. The other three agents beamed upwards, neither J.J. nor Emily had dry eyes.

Morgan brought Danny down the stairs in his arms with the broadest grin on his face before placing him on the ground so he could greet the rest of his family. Kevin walked slowly behind them and looked up to the reunion which was taking place.

The realisation hit him hard.

He was not Danny's Dad and he never would be if he didn't put his wellbeing first, and taking him away from his family and everything he knows would not have been doing that. He had been foolish and desperate, he learnt that he had a son just after he lost his mother, his only remaining family, being with him seemed the only logical solution to fill the hole. It wasn't though. He had been reckless and selfish and hurt the only woman he had ever truly loved and now ruined any chance he ever had of getting to know his son. She had offered him that chance, she had raised him to know him when she could have hidden his existence or spoken ill of him, but she didn't do that. Just as he had been five years ago he had been cowardly and he ran away, but not this time, he needed to face the consequences and do what was right by his son.

Kevin sighed and for once did the brave thing, he stepped up to Morgan and tapped him on the shoulder, "can I please have five minutes, I want to explain"

The agent turned, thought about it for a moment before giving a sharp nod and following him outside.

Morgan, who the agents expected to be livid, followed him calmly but with no expression on his face, "five minutes" he repeated.

Kevin looked down at his feet and shuffled about anxiously.

Derek clenched his fist at his side before launching it into Kevin's nose with such force he heard the crack of breaking bones. Kevin gave a short, high-pitched yelp and clutched his nose as blood began to spurt onto his hands and clothes.

Morgan rubbed his knuckles, after everything it didn't mean anything, he had Danny back but damn did it feel good.

"I guess I deserved that one" Kevin said his voice muffled by his hands covering his nose and mouth.

"Well?" Morgan asked folding his arms across his chest.

Kevin stood up straight holding his handkerchief to his nose hoping that the blood would soon began to dry and clot, "I am truly so sorry to both you and Pen, what I did was selfish and cruel and I promise I'll stay out of your lives forever, you can tell Danny to forget about me, pretend this never happened..." he babbled quickly.

Morgan looked down at Kevin, an hour ago he wanted to murder him with his bare hands but now he just saw a sad, lonely man who out of grief took his son who he recently learnt the existence of but he realised what he had done wrong and when it came to it he was there for Danny. He held his hand up to stop his waffling, "Lynch I'm not going to keep you out of Danny's life, you're a part of it now and no matter how angry I was, and still am, I get it. Grief does crazy things to people especially if your mother was all you had" he paused and sighed, "the main thing is you're willing to face the consequences, but I know the drill you won't get that long and when you're out Danny'll be here waiting for you" it took every will in his body but Morgan said it. He was tired of fighting, he just wanted to continue his life with his beautiful family and put the past behind him.

"Thank you" he whispered before the two men stood and began walking back into the house.

"Daddy!" Danny cried from the comfort of J.J.'s arms before stretching his arms out to be taking by his stepfather.

Morgan lifted him into his arms again and smiled as behind him Einarsson was placing handcuffs around Kevin's wrists and leading him to the police car.

Danny gasped, "did the baby come Daddy? Did it?" he asked raising his voice with excitement.

"Yes she did buddy, you are now a big brother to your little baby sister"

Danny grinned broadly, "does she got a name?"

Derek shook his head his heart heavy at the fact they they still hadn't named their precious little girl yet, "we were all waiting on you!" he smiled tickling him causing him to wriggle and laugh.

He looked up at Prentiss, Hotch and J.J. who were all as equally happy to have the little boy safe and back with his family before his eyes fell back on his little boy.

"I think it's time we went home"


	22. Chapter 21

**Retaining Happiness  
Chapter 21**

A/N - I cannot thank every single person enough for your continued support through this fic. This is supposed to be the penultimate chapter as I have written an Epilogue but are you wanting more? I can write a bit of happy, fluffy, familyness cause there's not been a lot of that if that's what you want or I can leave it here. Let me know it's all up to you beautiful, loyal readers!

* * *

Upon finishing Rossi's delicious dinner Penelope checked her phone, still no word from Derek. He was being ridiculous, their argument had been petty and it was days ago, she deserved information on the investigation to find her son.

After being told several times that she was not allowed to wash up she resumed her place on the couch tucking her feet under her. With James Blake away with work each of her friends were currently living alone and therefore said they would stay the evening as they didn't believe she should be alone. Penelope was naturally very grateful for the company, after the ordeal she had faced that day the last thing she wanted was to be on her won, but they were not the people she wished were there.

Just as she had begun to settle down the distant cries of her daughter could be heard from upstairs, she sighed and stood up.

"I can get her if you like" Blake offered drying her wet hands on a tea towel.

Penelope smiled gratefully, despite having her doubts about dear Alex Blake she come to find what a genuinely kind and lovely person she was and a great friend, "no my love I haven't seen her in a while I'll go"

"Garcia" Blake called after her as she began to walk up the stairs. She turned back, her eyes half closed behind her glasses, she was simply a ghost of the usual perfect, perky image of Penelope Garcia that everyone was used to. "After you've soothed her please go and get some rest we'll sort everything out, we're worried about you"

Although she hated other people fussing about her Garcia was far too tired to argue, she simply nodded slowly and continued to trudge up the stairs. She realised as she reached the landing that she was barely able to put one foot in front of the other, all she wanted to do was sleep for a week, but preferably in the arms of her husband with her son home and safe.

As she approached the nursery door she looked up at it before pushing the door open. It was plain white, nothing special on it yet, there was no name to identify whose door it was and that wasn't right. Her baby had been in the world almost three days and still she had not been given an identity, it wasn't right but there was nothing she could do to rectify the situation. Inside she saw her baby girl was squirming restlessly within her cot with her face screwed up tight as she cried, "shh there's a good girl" Garcia cooed as she picked her up softly and rocked her backwards and forwards. The wrinkles in her tiny face began to smooth out as she felt her mother's presence, "there we are, all better. You were just lonely, weren't you? Come on little one let's just sit here for a little bit, shall we?"

Penelope sat carefully on the comforting seat of the wooden rocking chair, it was the same one that had been in Danny's nursery but Derek had made it fit beautifully with the new décor in their little girl's room. Resting the tiny baby in her arms, supporting her head delicately with her hand, she began rocking her again slowly. "There we are" she smiled as her daughter began stretching her arm out in front of her and staring upwards with her matching chocolate eyes. Garcia blinked back her tears as she watched her baby girl carefully, she wished Derek was here to see her, no father should miss his daughter's first moments. Everything was just unfortunate.

A little grumble came from her arms as if her daughter could sense her sadness, "it's ok my tiny little munchkin, how about I sing you to sleep? Then maybe we can both get some long earned rest for the night" she asked quietly running her fingers over her tuft of soft black hair. She hummed quietly first before softly beginning to sing in barely a whisper, "hush little baby don't say a word, Mommy's gonna buy you a mockingbird, but if that mockingbird won't sing I bet Daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring…" tears sparkled in Garcia's eyes once more but her voice didn't falter as watched her little one's eyes begin to flutter and her breathing become steady. Minutes later, as she continued to sing she stood up very gently, "…and if that horse and cart fall down you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town" she concluded before kissing her on the head and placing her lightly into her cot.

A small wave of relief came over her as she closed the nursery door and heard her friends amusing themselves downstairs in her living room. She was finally getting some rest. Penelope was barely able to change into her comfiest pyjamas before she collapsed into her bed, ignoring how painfully empty it was, before falling straight into a deep sleep.

* * *

There was a moment of peace and tranquility when Garcia awoke the next morning. The sun was streaming through the curtains, the birds were chirping on the tree outside her window and there was a moment of sheer ignorant bliss.

And then she remembered.

She only had to put her hand to the left of her to feel the empty space on the bed and that sparked off the traumatic memories of the past few days. She sighed as she prised open her eyes and reluctantly got herself up and dressed. For a moment she thought she heard the sounds of movement outside her house, she listened once more before continuing to put her make up on, something she hadn't done properly for days, but she heard nothing. She swiftly came to the conclusion that her earlier encounter had made her paranoid.

She had remembered that her friends were downstairs and after the state she had been in for the past few days she wanted to make an effort, she didn't want Danny coming home to find his Mom had turned into a zombie. Once ready she headed towards the nursery, to her surprise her daughter hadn't woken her up during the night but she assumed that one of her colleagues had seen to her but now she must be hungry.

The little girl was gargling to herself from the comfort of her crib as Penelope entered, she carefully took her out and positioned her for her feed which she could tell she was very grateful for. After the clearly very hungry baby girl was finished Garcia preceded in changing her dirty nappy and dressing her in a pink newborn baby grow with little white bunnies on it which Derek had picked whilst they were shopping several months ago. Again her heart ached at the thought of her husband. There had still been no word from him.

As she stepped out of the door it seemed eerily quiet, there was no noise coming from her friends downstairs.

'Oh no not again, please I can't take anymore' she thought holding her little girl tighter. She took a deep breath and walked slowly down the stairs, taking each step at a time.

The sight from her living room made her nearly drop the baby in shock.

"Danny!" Penelope breathed tears falling from her eyes with happiness in the sight of seeing her little boy again.

"Surprise Mommy!" he cried jumping up and down on the couch.

As she rushed down the stairs she swore he looked even more handsome, she carefully handed the baby to J.J. who was stood closest to her before scooping her little boy into her arms and holding him tightly.

"Mommy! I can't breathe!" he complained after several minutes of the close embrace.

She giggled and released him, "sorry baby" she apologised squeezing his hand, "I have just missed you so much, cause I love you all the way-"

"-to infinity and beyond!" Danny shouted finishing her sentence before his attention turned to his Uncle Spencer leaving Garcia's attention to be turned to her husband.

She pursed her lips as she always did when she wanted to mad at him but she couldn't, "didn't think to tell me you were coming home?" she asked advancing towards him with her arms folded.

He tilted his head, "ever heard of surprises Momma?"

She suddenly flung her arms around his neck and held him tightly, "I've missed you Hot Stuff" she whispered into his neck.

After she released him he held her at arm's length just admiring her beauty before tucking a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear and kissing her softly but passionately on the lips. He smiled as they broke apart, "and missed you Baby Girl"

"Yuck!" Danny cried causing everyone in the room to laugh. This was the moment they had been waiting for, all the stress and the heartache of the last few days was to ensure that their little family was brought back together again. J.J. sighed internally, she wished that Emily could have been there to see this but shortly after they had saved Danny she had received an urgent call which requested she return to London immediately. They all knew it couldn't be helped and that they were lucky to see her for the time that they did but she knew how much Penelope and the rest of the team would've liked to have seen their friend too.

Morgan ran over to him and pulled him up into his arms as Garcia took the baby back, "are you ready to meet your baby sister Danny?" Penelope asked as Derek lowered him over her.

His little brow furrowed in confusion as he studied the strange and new thing in his life but then he smiled and took her tiny hand in his, "hello baby I'm your big brother and I'm going to look after you"

Another tear fell from Garcia's eye, she was so happy to have her boys home.

Rossi clapped his hands together, "somebody told me that there is a photo frame upstairs that is in desperate need of being filled. So if the Morgan family would please be so kind as to turn to face me and say cheese" he beamed as he pulled out Derek's camera which had been sat on the bookshelf in the living room.

Derek placed his free arm behind his wife and pulled her close as he held Danny tightly, this was how it was going to be from now on, he had his immediate family and his extended family. What more did he need?

Garcia smiled up at him, then to her children and then forwards to Rossi and the camera lens, life was their kind of perfect.

"Ok 1-2-3... CHEESE"


	23. Epilogue

**Retaining Happiness  
Epilogue**

A/N - Thank you so much for you support throughout this fic and I am truly appreciative that you want more from this story. Unfortunately I have exams now and I don't want to leave you waiting for ages for each chapter so I'm going to leave this fic here but I will definitely pick up this Morgan family for another story because I love them. So I can't thank you all enough and I hope you find this a fitting ending, anyone who's read When Two Becomes One will know I used the same name for the baby just to add continuity between my fics and we don't know what Garcia's mother's name was but I just really like it. Happy Reading! Love Laura xxx

* * *

_FEBRUARY_

When the sky outside is a rare shade of blue for the time of year and the sun is shining brightly there is no task more tedious than blowing up black, red and white balloons with the oversized, overpriced helium tank before trying to stop gravity from pulling it up to the ceiling whilst tying a piece of accurately cut length of ribbon to the bottom. This had been the task Derek Morgan had been allocated to perform for his son's fifth birthday party.

Beads of sweat began to form on his brow in frustration as he pressed the nozzle down for what seemed to be the one hundredth time that morning to allow the lighter than air gas to escape into the latex balloon. He looked out of the large glass patio doors which led out to what seemed to be acres of Rossi owned land. It seemed to have become a BAU tradition to hold celebrations of all kinds in Rossi's back garden and this was no exception.

The organisation for the party had been like a military operation for months, "he'll only turn five once Derek" Garcia had told him repeatedly every time she ordered more napkins or party bags or these freakin' balloons, but he loved her for it and Danny deserved it.

The theme for the day was pirates, Morgan remembered having to cut his oldest pair of shorts to make them look weathered and create an eye patch out of a large button and a piece of string to attend one of these parties when he was five years old. Some themes just never go out of style. Some just get heightened with the years whereas when he was five it was all about Peter Pan vs Captain Hook. Now all the kids wanted to be Captain Jack Sparrow with the Black Pearl, he had nothing against Pirates of the Caribbean, he would watch it and laugh when it was shown on the TV but there was more to pirates than Johnny Depp wearing a three-cornered hat.

Thanks to the unusually warm February weather they were able to have a large pirate-themed bouncy castle along with an inflatable obstacle course in the shape of a pirate ship covering the perfectly kept lawn. On the patio area there were brightly coloured tables with plates of delicious delights under cellophane to keep then fresh.

He was about to tip the can in front of him over in frustration as a balloon slipped out of his hands and glided gracefully up to the ceiling to meet several others when he felt a pair of soft, perfectly manicured hands sliding down his shoulders.

Morgan stifled a smile and lowered his voice to a husky growl, "you'll have to be careful miss, my wife is about and she can get awful jealous"

The hairs on the back of his neck shot up and shivers coursed through his body as he felt warm breath tickle his ear, "well we better be quick then hadn't we sugar?" a slow overly dramatic, but completely captivating, southern accent sang, "your wife doesn't know what she's missin', I think she's bein' selfish, there's too much man here for one person" Morgan could sense her biting her lip, teasing him and he couldn't stand it any longer.

In one swift move he pulled her around from the side and onto his lap. He grinned as he looked her up and down, she wore a white shirt with a long black flowing skirt which hung just below her knees complete with high black boots with killer heels and on her head was a traditional black hat with a red feather sticking out of the top which matched her sparkling red glasses and jewellery. He gave a low whistle, "well shiver me timbers Baby Girl, how does it feel to wake up and look in the mirror and think 'damn I am that sexy'?"

Penelope shrugged and smiled broadly before wrapping her arms around his neck, "I was just contemplating that myself!"

Enough teasing, Derek pulled her close so their lips locked firmly, their kisses were fiery yet so full of love, it was a pleasant reminder how perfect they were together.

When they broke apart Garcia looked around the room before up at the ceiling, "I think I can relieve you of your balloon duties my prince, I think we have enough now"

Morgan gave an internal sigh of relief, "is everything else ok?"

She nodded happily, "food is out and ready to be served, Rossi and Reid are just finishing the pin the skull and cross bones on the top of the pole, the 'booty' piñata and pass the treasure chest activities and J.J. has the children basically we're all ready for action"

Placing his arm around his wife he glanced at his watch, "and half an hour before show time, well done Baby Girl I'm proud of you"

Her pale cheeks went a light shade of pink and she smiled gratefully as they walked outside to meet their friends.

Danny, who was taking the slightly individual approach of dressing up as Will Turner as opposed to Jack Sparrow as in his words he's 'the nicer pirate', was busy opening a brightly wrapped package that he had just received from Uncle Aaron and Jack. Hotch looked over and smiled, even he dressed up for the occasion bringing out his 'Pirate 3' hat, to outsiders it may seem like an old piece of costume but to him it was what had brought him Haley and thereby bringing him the best things in his life.

J.J. and Will were sitting at one of the wooden tables spaced across the garden to allow parents to stay and watch their children if they so desired. Henry seemed to be trying to explain something to his little sister Anna who seemed a lot more interested in playing with her Barbie.

Penelope smiled as she walked over to them, sat in the centre of her best friend's lap was her now nine month old baby girl. Rachel Francesca, who was soon named after her parents' mothers after her father and brother returned from Sweden, was laughing toothlessly in her new pastel pink dress, her black hair just long enough to tie in a matching pink bow. She held out her small chubby arms as she saw her parents approaching and giggled when her mother scooped her up into her arms.

"Thanks for all your help Jayje, I couldn't have done it without you" she said as Rachel began to play with her chunky necklace.

J.J. shook her head, "don't even mention it, you did the same for Henry"

Penelope opened her mouth to reply when her birthday boy ran over excitedly and began jumping up and down in front of her, "Mommy! Daddy! Look what Uncle Aaron and Jack got me" he cried holding up a model plane, "can we make it together please Daddy?"

Morgan nodded and put his hand on his shoulder, "of course we can little man, I hope you said thank you"

"I did" he replied before running off once more, Morgan smiled, he envied his son's naivety and innocence, it was silly to wish he could get excited by such a trivial thing such as a modal plane but he did.

Needless to say that since learning of the encounter that occurred in his house while he was in Sweden he had kept firmer grip on his family but he knew that he couldn't be overly protective or they would reject him for it. So he stood and watched from a distance, but he would always be watching, he would be there to protect them. His thoughts were interrupted by the first scream of a child, he had always wondered why children appeared to scream for no reason, it wasn't out of anger or sadness or excitement, they just began screaming. Whatever the reason, and the discomfort to the adult's eardrums, it was an indication that the party was about to begin and they all took their starting positions.

Although the party had been a success and every child seemed to be having a fantastic time Derek wanted to jump for joy when Penelope suggested it was time for him to bring out the skull and cross bones cake with five large candles on it.

He knew he was just being grumpy and overall he, and all his party hat wearing colleagues, had had a great day. It made him smile when he saw Reid explaining to the smallest boy with the largest glasses, who he evidently reminded him of himself, the logics of how to hit the piñata so that it burst. He everyone's surprise he did it. Then there was the five year old bully who everyone had to invite to parties but nobody wanted to, Jeremy Wallace. Not bothering to dress up in anything remotely pirate-themed or engage in any of the activities provided he proceeded in storming around each of adults if they had a gun, unfortunately it was common knowledge that Danny's parents were FBI. Morgan thought he would have to throw this kid out until he reached Rossi, when he asked him he simply smiled and leant forward and whispered in his best 'I'm in charge voice', "if you don't leave us alone kid I may be forced to use it, and I have a license". Jeremy Wallace backed away from him slowly and sulked in the corner for the remainder of the party.

As Morgan walked out with the candles sparkling brightly in front of him he saw his little boy's face light up, this made him swell with pride. He was completely oblivious to what had happened six months earlier and he was glad. As he placed the cake down in front of him he put his arm around his wife who stood slightly to the side and kissed Rachel on the head who smiled at the chorus of 'Happy Birthday to you' which was being sung. She was squirming within Penelope's arms as she was learning the joys of being able to walk and wanted any opportunity to practice so she soon placed her on the grass and while holding her tiny hands let her stand and take a few wobbly steps.

The singing soon ceased, "make a wish Danny!" the booming voice of David Rossi called from the crowd which had gathered around to wish him a Happy 5th Birthday.

Danny pondered a second before realising what his wish would be and he closed his eyes tightly before blowing, so to extinguish each flame in a single breath.

When Danny opened his eyes a broad grin spread across his face, "Mr Lynch!" he cried abandoning his cake and running through the crowd towards his father who had edged his way to the back of the crowd holding a brightly wrapped present.

Everyone went silent, even the unaware parents and children didn't speak. Penelope glanced sideways at Derek unsure what to do, she knew that he had made a truce with her son's father as she would have done but was it too soon?

Ready to save the situation as usual Rossi pushed through to the table and cried, "ok who wants cake?" quickly distracting the attention of the children leaving the Morgan family to face Kevin Lynch once more.

"Hey Danny" Kevin smiled hugging him tightly, he was now clean shaven and dressed in a white short sleeved shirt and beige smart pants a complete direct contrast to the last time they had set eyes on him.

Morgan walked over with his arm still firmly around Penelope, she had not had to face him since he had kidnapped her son and he would be there to support her, "Lynch" he greeted shortly.

Kevin looked from between the two of them and nodded, "Morgan, Pen" he added a little softer, "I only just finished my sentence and I remembered Danny mentioned his birthday and when you weren't at home I thought I would give it a shot and come here, I didn't want to overstep a mark-"

"-It's ok, I'm glad you're here" Penelope interjected still not meeting his eye but instead looking down at Rachel who was happily pottering around her legs.

"Daddy!" Danny jumped excitedly in front of Morgan, "I didn't tell anyone my wish like Auntie Jayje said and it came true, I wanted to see my born daddy again. Can I show Mr Lynch my presents?"

Garcia squeezed his hand tightly and nodded, "yeah of course you can little man, but make sure you get cake before all your little friends, and your Uncle Dave, eats it all" Morgan smiled.

"I will Daddy, love you!" he called pulling Kevin by the hand towards the present table.

They both watched as Danny smiled and laughed with his real father, a bond Penelope was once scared would never happen and a bond that Derek was scared would, but a bond they both had to accept. Neither said a word but they didn't have to as Morgan held Garcia close with their baby between them. Each of their family was happy and that was the most important thing.

THE END.


End file.
